Round Robin: Awakening
by coloradospace
Summary: It started as a one parter and is now a Round Robin, meaning the plot changed and there are MANY writers. Following the last ep of season 2, our favorite characters meet paralell universes, and the trouble that is sure to follow. COMPLETE
1. coloradospace

**AWAKENING**

Summary: well, it starts at the end of the last ep of season 2. You'll see what happens next by reading.

AN: This is my very first fan fic, although my dear friend AliasJaneDoe helped me through this and beta read the chapters.

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own MX, I don't want to either. Yadda yadda yadda, you know the drill. Don't sue, and just on the bright side, all kind of critics are welcome as long as there are no flames.

**Chapter 1**

Pain. All he could feel was pain. A throbbing headache was bringing him to consciousness. Where in hell was he? What happened? Where were the others? The explosion! As he remembered what happened, he tried to open his eyes but to no avail. The pain was too much. He could hear sounds around him, slow beats that were starting to speed. The more he focused on it and regaining consciousness, the more he panicked and the louder and quicker the sound became. He then felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Brennan! Brennan, do you hear me? Calm down, I'm here, you're safe."

This voice. He knew the voice, but in his fogged mind and panic, he couldn't understand what was said to him. The hand started to push his chest gently but firmly back on the bed when he didn't even know he changed position. What the hell was happening!

"What's happening? Where am I?"

The more he gained consciousness, the less he could feel the pain on his head but the more he realised a terrifying thing. He couldn't see. During his thrashing movements, he had opened his eyes without even realising it, and he didn't see a single thing. Not a light, not a shadow, not even some shades of black to say it was the night. Just darkness. That's when he stopped all movements. He was an elemental mutant, he could make electricity, he was tall, strong, and here he was, blind. The name was hard on him. His stillness worried the person next to him that started to touch his arm gently and speak softly.

"Bren, it's gonna be okay. It's me, Jess. Do you hear me?"

"Jess? My God, what happened? What is going on? Why can't I see?"

He was getting frustrated not knowing, and terribly scared.

"Hold on, I'll check on you, just try to relax, okay?"

"How the hell do you want me to relax? What's going on, man?!"

"Bren, I..."

"No, Jess!" interrupted the agitated elemental. "I want to know what's happening. I NEED to know."

It was the begging and tone of voice that did it, that made Jesse cave.

"Alright, I'll tell you. You were in a coma for weeks. We actually thought we had lost you a couple of times, but you always came back," said Jesse in a sombre tone.

"I was in a coma?" repeated the young man, stunned.

"Yeah, it was touch and go, we all stayed with you at any time of day and night. We already..." But Jesse couldn't finish the sentence as tears began to form in his eyes and his throat tightened.

"Jess, what exactly happened?" pleaded Brennan. "I remember the explosion, and then I saw Emma starting to fall... Oh my God! Emma! Is she alright?! What happened, Jess? Tell me she is okay!"

Upon seeing him like that, the blond man tried to choke back on his tears and gain a little composure before answering. "You saved her, Bren. I don't know how exactly, but you did it."

"I remember her falling," he said in a faraway voice, as if reliving the moment. "I couldn't let it happen, not to her."

The slip didn't go unnoticed by his friend. For months he wondered what was going on with his friends, even though he was suspicious. But now wasn't the time for this kind of thought.

"I remember jumping after her," continued Brennan, "and holding her as we fell. She was so scared, and so was I but I couldn't let her see it. I remember trying to use my power to slow down our fall, and that's about it. What happened then, Jess?"

His hold on the sheet was tightening with each minute that went by. Jesse couldn't really look him in the eye, but he had to know.

"She is okay. The land was rough, but she only got scraps and bruises."

"That's good," answered the taller man, pondering where that left him. All that really mattered was her.

"You hit your head pretty hard during the fall, Bren. That's what caused the coma, and maybe your vision problem."

"Maybe Adam can check it out, maybe it is not permanent? Where is he?"

"Bren, Adam was burnt pretty badly during the explosion." Jesse was hoping to no avail that he wouldn't be the one to tell his friend how bad it was. Bad for all of them. As he pondered which kind of future they would now have, he saw nothing, so how could he say that to his friend? To his brother?

As he watched emotions cross over his friend's face, from anger to despair, he knew he had to tell him everything.

"Adam was burnt and lost part of his face, Bren. We were all in the hospital for weeks, and when he decided he felt better, he just kind of left."

"What do you mean he left?"

"He said he couldn't see us suffer like that, that it was his fault."

"The arrogant SOB! Of course it is his fault, just as it is ours! For God's sake, we are not kids, we knew what we were going into! How could he abandon us like that?! Please Jess, tell me it's not true!"

"Em and I will take care of you, Bren. We'll take care of each other. We're a family, right, bro!" The hopeful tone in Jesse's voice almost made Bren miss what he was trying not to say.

"Jesse, what about Shalimar?"

"She didn't make it. A..." Trying for the 100th time to gain his composure, he squared his shoulders, held his head high and tightened his jaw. "She was crushed by the building when it fell apart."

"Man, Shal, and Adam... Tell me at least you and Emma are okay, I don't care if I'm not able to see for the rest of my life, please tell me this nightmare has an end and you are both okay," he pleaded.

As Jesse looked at his position in the wheelchair, he couldn't tell him. Not yet. When he was better, he would tell him, but for the time being, he would spare him.

"We're good, Bren. Emma is just resting. I know she will stop by later to know how you are. Those past few months took their toll on her. I will let you rest also, you need it."

As he started to leave, Brennan's voice stopped him. "Wait! You just said months, but before you told me weeks. Jesse, how long was I passed out?"

"Four months, Bren."

He then left the room, letting his friend get used to his new situation, both wondering what the future would bring, or if hell wasn't that far from where they were now.


	2. Milmiss

**Chapter 2  
by Milmiss**

Brennan rubbed his eyes for the hundredth time. Holding his breath, he distanced his hand from his face and slowly opened his eyes. Still no changes. He sighed and dropped his hand on the mattress.  
  
He was still lying on his bed; he hadn't really moved since Jesse had left. But how could he have, anyway? Everything Jesse had told him was slowly but surely starting to sink in, rooting him to the spot. This couldn't be happening, not to him, not to them, not to Mutant X.  
  
He suddenly tensed. He could have sworn he had just heard something. There it was again. A brief and dull sound. He was soon overcome with an uneasy feeling. Something was going on. He tried to stay calm, convincing himself that if something was indeed wrong, he would hear footsteps, voices, or in the worst case scenario, some kind of alarm. But it was all silent, except for this noise, again and again. His instinct of self-preservation however guided his next move as he channelled some electricity in his hand. Even without seeing it, he knew sparks were flying between his fingers. He could feel the energy flowing through his body, just like every time he was using his powers. At least something was working. Small satisfaction, but one anyway. The sound increased and Brennan listened to it carefully. He instantly closed his hand, making the electricity disappear, as it dawned on him. Rain. It was raining outside. Despite the current situation, a weak smile appeared on his face. Brennan Mulwray, afraid of rain. His blindness, temporary or not – hell, he was in this state since four months ago, how could it be temporary? - had apparently changed his perceptions a little. He was beginning to think he had some feral senses.  
  
The smile on his lips died instantly. Shalimar. It couldn't be true, she couldn't be dead. Jesse hadn't gone into all the details, and Brennan could only imagine how painful it must have been for the molecular to say it. Beside Adam, he had known Shalimar the longest. She was a part of Jesse, just as much as Emma was a part of him, he knew that.  
  
He was starting to think that Adam should have been the one to die. How could he have abandoned them? His children, as he kept saying. What had given him the right to disappear at the least little problem? Okay, this maybe wasn't a "little problem," more like a living nightmare, but he had created this situation, for Christ's sake! Even if it wasn't intentional, he had his part of responsibility for what had happened at Naxcon. He had deserted at the worst possible time, leaving them by themselves without a legitimate reason. "He couldn't see us suffer like that" had been Jesse's words. The elemental choked back a bitter laugh. What a joke! The Great Adam Kane, unable to face their state. Brennan would give anything to be able to give him a piece of his mind right now.  
  
To ask him if he knew how Emma must feel right now, trying to deal with her own emotions, but also Jesse's and now his, since he had woken up. It wasn't fair, she shouldn't have to carry all that by herself. Brennan knew she was strong, but he didn't want to impose his feelings on her. He had never regarded the bond they shared since they had met as a curse until today. On the contrary, it had brought him some kind of sensation of security, making him feel like he would never be alone again. But he now wished he could somehow break this connection if it meant making her feel better.  
  
Because he was scared, he couldn't deny it. Scared as hell. It seemed like everything had turned wrong, and nothing would go better anytime soon. And he was blind. He had absolutely no idea how he would deal with it.  
  
The more he was thinking about the situation, the more agitated he was growing. He suddenly had trouble breathing, as if the walls were closing on him. Was claustrophobia a consequence of blindness? He didn't know, he didn't care, all he knew was that he needed to get out, to take a breath of fresh air. So he proceeded to get up.

* * *

"Thanks," said Jesse as Emma handed him a cup of coffee.  
  
"How did it go?" she asked quietly as she sat down in front of him.  
  
"It could have been worse." He paused. "I think. Well, honestly, I don't know. It seems that all I was doing back there was turning the knife in the wound, spreading out the situation. I think the only good news came from the fact that you were okay."  
  
"Anyway, thank you. For bringing the news to Brennan. I wouldn't have been able to. Even without being in the same room with him, his feelings are so overwhelming. They're almost blocking mine. It took me by surprise when he woke up; I wasn't prepared to deal with that. My walls are down whenever I'm around him, but I never thought it would be a bad thing someday."  
  
"And he still doesn't know everything," Jesse added, taking a sip of coffee.  
  
Somehow Emma knew it. "You didn't tell him, did you? About you?"  
  
Jesse locked eyes with her, answering her silently.  
  
"So, what's next?"  
  
Jesse frowned. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Now that Brennan is awake. Where do we go from here?"  
  
Jesse wasn't sure he was following her. "Emma, look at us. Shal's dead, Adam is gone, Brennan can't see, I can't walk, and you can't even think clearly! What kind of team is that? You..." he stopped himself, seeing Emma's expression. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. But you said it yourself, you're trying to deal with all our feelings. This is not healthy."  
  
"We can't stay like this forever, Jess. We need to move on. We can't..."  
  
Both she and Jesse were startled, almost dropping their cups, when they heard the loud noise coming from Brennan's room. The sound of his voice followed quickly.  
  
"DAMN!" he yelled.  
  
Emma closed her eyes, making up her mind. She stood slowly and answered Jesse's unasked question. "I'll go. I'll have to deal with it sooner or later, anyway."  
  
She was in front of Brennan's room too soon for her liking, so she took a moment to compose herself. She breathed deeply and finally knocked at his door.  
  
"Brennan? Is everything okay? Can I come in?"

* * *

TBC...

If you want to join this RR, please see the author bio for the URL of the leX talionis site.


	3. AliasJaneDoe

**Chapter 3  
by AliasJaneDoe**

"No." His voice sounded broken... upset, frustrated. Not at her, though - Brennan wasn't angry with her, but at himself.  
  
She felt his emotions, rather than heard it in his voice from that one word. She wondered if the no was about her coming in... or him being okay.  
  
Emma entered his room anyway. He was collapsed on the floor beside his bed. Of course, she sighed to herself. They should have known he would attempt getting up. She rushed to his side and eased down beside him.  
  
"Brennan..." She felt like she had to say something, didn't know what. But he couldn't see her; his world relied on his other senses now. She had to say something. She rested her hand lightly on his shoulder. He still had touch also. "Brennan..."  
  
"I tried to get up." He let out bitter, raw laugh. "I haven't walked in four months, and I decided, hey, I'm going for a little stroll."  
  
His tone was more pained than sarcastic. His laughter turned into sobbing, and Emma pulled him to her. Blood from where he'd ripped the IV from his hand stained her shirt. "It's okay. Shh, you're okay."  
  
After a minute, he tried to shrug away from her touch.  
  
"Brennan, don't." He was trying to shove her away from his thoughts, from what he was feeling.  
  
"I'm a mess right now. You shouldn't have to go through that." He kept his face tilted down.  
  
Emma wanted to demand that he look at her. Then she wanted to cry. Her fingers moved to his face, and she gently cupped his cheek in her palm. "My knight in shining armor," she whispered gently.  
  
"What--" He paused, needing to take several deep breaths and steady himself. "What happened to Eckhart?"  
  
Emma wondered if that had been his original question. "I don't know."  
  
"What's our plan?" he asked slowly.  
  
She studied him carefully. "What do you mean?"  
  
"We're going to kill him, right? For what he did." For Shalimar.  
  
She softly stroked the side of his face with the backs of her fingers, removing his tears. "We need to focus on us first."  
  
"What us?" he demanded, the anger returning to his wavering voice. "You, me, and Jess? Because Mutant X is dead. Shalimar is never coming back. And I don't think I want Adam to."  
  
"Adam..."  
  
"Doesn't deserve defending," Brennan stated firmly, then sighed. "I dunno, maybe if I could look him in the eye, I could forgive him, but..."  
  
He left the sentence hanging. Emma didn't force him to finish it.  
  
"Are you two alright?" Jesse's voice asked from the doorway.  
  
Brennan automatically looked up, then his fingers clutched the material of Emma's clothing a bit tighter. He hadn't heard footsteps to signal Jesse's arrival. So much for his other senses heightening to make up for the one he lost.  
  
"I think we're okay," Emma replied. "Give us a few minutes, will you?"  
  
Jesse nodded. "I'll be in my room... if you need me."  
  
"Thanks, Jess," she said softly before returning her attention to Brennan. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm scared." A confession Brennan couldn't recall ever making before, not aloud. Not to anybody other than himself.  
  
Emma stood up. "Let's get you back to bed. We'll go for that stroll tomorrow, okay?"  
  
Brennan didn't complain, already feeling exhausted. And... rather disoriented. Emma's voice was in the wrong place. He was on the floor still, she was standing, and Jesse had been standing as well, hadn't he? So Emma was too tall. He turned his head toward where he knew his door to be. He pressed his hands against the floor to brace himself. He was just confused, that was all.  
  
"Brennan?" The concern in Emma's tone was obvious. "Are you in pain, or... What's wrong?"  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"Hey," she said soothingly. "Don't be afraid to lean on me. For as long as you need. I will be your eyes, Bren."  
  
He hesitated. "And Jesse's legs?"  
  
She stared suddenly at him, the words completely unexpected. She didn't have a response.  
  
His blank gaze searched for her face, needing to see the expression there, never finding it. "If it wasn't serious, you'd have already told me."  
  
"Brennan, I..." She still didn't know what to say, wasn't prepared.  
  
He gave up on trying to see and dropped his face down once more. "How long did you think it would take me to notice?"  
  
"I hoped long enough for him to be able to tell you himself." Jesse still didn't talk about it. Ever. "Did he tell you how Shal died?"  
  
"She... she was crushed, when the building collapsed." The words came with difficulty.  
  
"Adam thinks she was already dead, that she," Emma choked up for a moment, swallowing several times, "broke her neck when she fell. Jesse tried to save her. When they found him, he was draped over her body. We thought we'd lost them both. Jess blames himself. He couldn't hold his breath. He nearly died shielding her when she was likely dead already, and he blames himself because he couldn't hold the phase and keep the weight from crushing them. He blames himself."  
  
Brennan grasped blindly for her hand. He would blame himself as well. If he'd lost Emma. He couldn't imagine how much this must be tearing Jesse apart. They would never recover from this. Physically or emotionally. They would never heal.  
  
-----  
  
It was after three in the morning when Emma left Sanctuary. Brennan and Jesse were both asleep, though she knew Jesse only slept due to the pills.  
  
When she reached the safe-house, she quickly got out of the car before she could change her mind. The air was still damp, threatening more rain, and she pulled her coat tighter around her thin frame. She shivered, probably not from the night's chill, but she told herself that was why. It would be warmer inside.  
  
The door opened easily to her code, and she let herself into the dark building. The first thing she noticed were the computers, at least a dozen of them, all turned on. There were hundreds of pages from notebooks scattered around as well. Emma picked one up. Equations. Nothing she understood.  
  
A man was asleep on the other side of the room, his upper body lying across one of the tables, clearly having drifted off while working. Adam. It wasn't as though he'd been hard to find. Probably wasn't expecting anybody to look for him.  
  
Emma contemplated turning on the main lights, but she could see well enough in the glow from the computer monitors. She walked over to where Adam slept, fitfully, like his dreams plagued him. Grabbing a second chair, she pulled it over, its legs screeching across the floor. She sat opposite Adam.  
  
The noise woke him, and he looked up, startling briefly before his gaze rested on her. She only crossed her arms over her chest and stared back at him. Not a full glare, just watched him.  
  
"Emma."  
  
She couldn't tell if it was meant to be a greeting, or if he had just identified her and happened to say her name out loud. "Adam," she spoke.  
  
"I wasn't expecting to see you." He straightened himself up.  
  
She tried to keep her gaze on him, despite the scars which marred his face. It was like Phantom of the Opera, she thought. None of this was real. She kept her eyes steady, didn't even blink. Then she found her voice. "Jesse and Brennan aren't in much of a condition to come visit."  
  
For a moment, she thought he looked almost... penitent.  
  
"He woke up, by the way," she added.  
  
"Brennan." He nodded. "Good."  
  
Was that all he had to say? Good? "What are you doing here, Adam?" Why wasn't he with them? After four months, why did she still care?  
  
He stood up, smoothed some of the wrinkles from his shirt. "I'm trying to find a way to get us home."  
  
Emma didn't understand. "We are home. At least Jesse, Brennan, and I are. The fact that you're not there with us, that's your own doing."  
  
"No," he quickly corrected. He grabbed some of the papers, staring at them as if they held the clue to the meaning of life. "Jesse is. You, me, and Brennan are not."  
  
"What are you talking about, Adam?" Her tone was dull, asking more to humor him than of real interest. Maybe he'd gone mad out here on his own.  
  
"During the explosion," he replied, gesturing as if his hand movements were as important as speech itself, "Brennan used his powers."  
  
She knew this.  
  
"It caused some kind of..." He couldn't seem to find the words, his hands trying to fill in for him. "There was a disturbance, a tear, or rift, or gateway you could say."  
  
It was all just scribbles to her, his piles of notes. He tried desperately to gain her full attention. Why was she here, she asked herself, what possible reason?  
  
"Emma, listen to me." She looked up at him once more, and that was enough for him to go on. "We inadvertently opened some kind of doorway to another plane of existence, a parallel reality. And we need Brennan if we're to recreate what happened and go back."  
  
Her stare at him was blank.  
  
"This is not our reality."  
  
That was her same wish for the last four months. Only difference was, Adam actually seemed to believe it. "So what, you're suggesting Brennan has the ability to time travel and fix this now? You're talking gibberish, Adam. Shalimar is dead, move on with your life without her." And likely without us, she added to herself.  
  
"No, I'm not talking about time travel. This is completely different. Shalimar is dead, yes, but that is this reality's Shalimar. Ours might not be," he spoke with conviction. "This is not our world."  
  
"You've been reading too much sci-fi," she replied, too tired to deal with his denial. She shook her head sadly. "When you come to terms with losing Shal and with what happened to Jesse, when you can handle it, you know where we'll be. Goodbye, Adam."  
  
And she left.  
  
-----  
  
TBC...

If you want to join this RR, please see the author bio for the URL of the leX talionis site.


	4. frickangel

**Chapter 4**

**By frickangel**

One aspirin for one headache, two for a major headache; what do you take when you've lost your mind then?  
  
Emma rubbed her temples as she battled with the urge to pop the entire bottle of painkillers. _That would be suicide_. She scoffed, but the offer was tempting. The small white container stood on the dressing table, mocking her very existence and it just seemed so peculiar. It looked so normal; it was almost strange in this hour.   
  
Sitting there in her own room, she sighed. "When you start thinking that way DeLauro, you know you're cuckoo."  
  
"When you start talking to yourself, I know you're cuckoo."  
  
Whipping her head up, Emma smiled at the crumpled figure in the wheelchair. "Jesse..."  
  
Acknowledging her with a nod, he looked at her open palm, two white pills cradled within.  
  
Instinctively, she balled her hand into a fist, hiding the drugs away from his sight.  
  
"So how'd it go?" he said, changing the subject. Unfortunately, it was a subject Emma wasn't too clear what he was asking about.   
  
"What?"   
  
He shrugged and leaned forward. "Adam."  
  
"Well-- wait..." a sudden thought, "How'd you know?"  
  
Scoffing and giving his lop sided grin, Jesse replied, "Look Emm, when you went out, I kinda knew. Not like we have any where to go right now, especially not at three in the morning. Figured it would only be Adam."  
  
"You were suppose to be asleep." She muttered and eyed him.  
  
"It comes, it goes. I'm afraid to sleep, who knows what I'll lose when I wake up."  
  
Emma shook her head, "We all have serious problems."  
  
"So Adam...?"  
  
She took a moment to transfer the painkillers from her hand to the dressing table, placing it next to its container. "Well... to say his lost it would be an understatement."  
  
Manually giving the wheels of the chair momentum, Jesse made his way closer to the Psionic with a concerned frown creased on his forehead, "What do you mean?"  
  
"He started babbling something about parallel universes and said we didn't belong here."  
  
The half scoff and half laugh of Jesse's escaped from his lips, "What?"   
  
"You should have seen him Jess, he was obsessed with the idea that Shalimar was still alive."  
  
She noted Jesse wince at the mention of Shalimar's name, Emma softened her voice a little and hesitated on continuing, but an awkward silence would have been worse, so she carried on. "He had all this notes lying around the place, kinda like a mad scientist's lab."   
  
"Did he say anything else, any questions?" Jesse reached over and picked up the bottle of aspirin, Emma looked at him as he turned the object in his hands over and over. The hope in his voice reminded her of a small child's Christmas wish.  
  
The headache was beginning to feel like a sledgehammer whacking her temples. "No."  
  
Returning the bottle back to its original position, the man fell back into the chair and looked dejected. Emma's head was pounding further and Jesse's emotions weren't helping her in anyway.  
  
Slowly, wheeling himself out of the room, he left Emma in silence and alone again.  
  
Picking up the painkillers, Emma stared at it while pondering on Adam's words.  
  
Alternate worlds.  
  
Denial was setting hard in Adam. And who could blame him? The man lost his face, part of his family, his pride...  
  
_But he didn't lose everything._ A tiny voice told Emma.  
  
_No, he still has us_. She answered back. _What's left of us..._   
  
Still, the idea of getting back everything was something that Emma often dreamed about.  
  
"Here."   
  
The clear glass of water was held in front of her, and behind it, was Jesse.  
  
Accepting the drink, Emma smiled gratefully. "Thanks..."  
  
"It's hard to swallow those things dry." He told. "I know."  
  
Emma watch as Jesse left the room once more. Twirling the liquid in the glass a few times, she popped in both the pills, and took one big gulp of water.  
  
------   
  
Sitting there silently, Brennan adjusted himself to his surroundings. He could tell where Emma had parked him in Sanctuary.  
  
The rec room.  
  
The couch was a big give away though. But Brennan sensed an object in front of him, reaching out, at first a little too high, but he lowered his hand and felt the smooth structure of the coffee table. Behind him; the wall.  
  
He chuckled; of course it would be a wall.  
  
If he recalled correctly, there was a potted plant on his left. Using his leg, Brennan shuffled it and felt it tap against something porcelain like.  
  
Brennan silently sighed, this wasn't something he liked, but he was getting used to it.  
  
Sometimes he could imagine seeing something, some familiar object, then it'll fade away and he was left back a vision of nothingness.  
  
This was something he definitely didn't like. At least he stopped throwing and kicking things.  
  
That's a start.  
  
------   
  
"So is this permanent?"  
  
Jesse shrugged, "I have no idea."  
  
Jesse turned his attention back to the distant figure sitting quietly in the rec room, grasping at things around him. He figured he could use the bigger space since both Brennan's condition and emotions stabilise. Get him comfortable with the surroundings, while we stood here under the staircase.  
  
"Maybe it'll return," Emma said hopefully.  
  
"Maybe." Jesse echoed her. A sudden memory invaded his mind and left a small moment of amusement. He chuckled.  
  
"What?" The red head quizzed, eyebrows arched.  
  
He shook his head and looked up. "Just remembered how it was when you and Brennan stepped in here for the first time."  
  
This time, Emma laughed along. The slits of light coming in between the steps, danced across her faced. It's been a while since they had laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I was so freaked out." She continued laughing. "The whole freak incident."  
  
"That was one of those, eh?" he smiled, remembering how she had called him a freak.  
  
She stopped mid laugh, "You do know I didn't mean it right?"  
  
He grinned and looked away, "No Emma, I've been a holding a grudge since then." Giving her a mocked show of anger, Jesse let Emma read the joy he was feeling. _Sarcasm Emma, sarcasm_. He thought as Emma seemed to take a while to think.  
  
"Yeah right!" Using the back of his hand, she gave him a slight whack on his shoulder. Those really were better days, "I even remember when Shalimar told you, you had started crying when you reached Sanctuary."  
  
"What?" Jesse tried to recall, but he was sure Emma wasn't there.  
  
"You know, when I walked in and Shalimar teased you with something about crying."  
  
"Yeah, I remember that, but it was Brennan who was there, not you."  
  
Her eyebrows tangled in a frown. "No, it was me. When I first arrived, Brennan wasn't even there yet."  
  
Jesse had begun wondering if Emma was pulling his leg, but she looked dead serious and confused. "Nope, we brought Brennan in first, then you." He shook his head. "Then he went after you and got caught by Genomex."  
  
The laughs had stopped.  
  
"That's how it went Emm." The sick feeling of worry began to set in his stomach, _was Emma suffering from something else?_  
  
"Uh... yeah!." Now I remember, she chuckled and smiled. "Just that, you know all this headaches get to you." She rubbed her temples for the effect. "Brennan told me Shalimar said something like that. What was I thinking, huh?"  
  
"You sure you're ok?" Part of Jesse was glad that Emma having noticed her memory mistake, but a part of him was worried it was more than just a regular case of forgetfulness.  
  
"Yep, I'm fine." She smiled assuringly and looked at Brennan again. "You think you can attend to Brennan?"  
  
He nodded, he may not be able to walk, but he was still useful. "Yeah, sure."  
  
"I'm just gonna go out and get some fresh air. Maybe it'll help with the current headache I have."  
  
"Sure, go ahead." Jesse moved out of the shadows and made his way to Brennan. Glancing back, he saw Emma run down the corridor and disappeared at the bend.  
  
Shaking his head, Jesse turned back towards Brennan. _Emma was right, we have serious problems_, he snorted slightly. _Now we're all paranoid_  
  
------   
  
_Please, God let this be a dream. Shalimar's not dead, Jesse's not paralysed and Brennan isn't blind. Let me wake up in my bed, and the others poke fun at such a stupid dream. __  
  
__Please God, why aren't you answering me?_  
  
Making her way past all the mess, Emma carefully stepped over some trash and looked ahead. Next to the couch, she bent down and gently pushed the man lying there. "Adam..." she pleaded.  
  
He stirred, but didn't wake.  
  
"Adam."   
  
With a start that made Emma fall on her behind, Adam bolted up. He looked around and finally at the Psionic, "Emma? What are-."  
  
She silenced him with a stare and got up, "We need to get home Adam. We don't belong here."  
  
------   
  
Up next...


	5. AliasJaneDoe

"I thought you didn't believe me."

Emma glanced away, shoving some stray hair behind her ear. "Lately, I've been having trouble believing _in_ you, Adam." She paused. "But I want to go home. Can you get us back?"

Her eyes were frightened, as if afraid of hoping. "I'm not certain," he replied honestly. "Possibly."

"When," she asked, "when do we try? How long?"

"I'll be ready in a few months. Maybe half a year." There were a lot of factors that needed to be accounted for.

Emma nodded. Another few months and this bad dream could all be over. Could she make it that long? She quickly wiped at her face, brushing away fresh tears. She didn't even know why she was crying. She told herself it was because she was happy. She was happy, wasn't she? She sat down on the couch beside Adam.

"How's Brennan?"

She shot a glare at the man. "You mean is he up for it?"

He placed his hand over hers. "I mean how is Brennan?"

She looked from the hand that was gently resting on hers up to his face. He seemed genuinely concerned. "He's... coping." She felt herself tremble. She was nervous. "Even if... If this works and you're right and we get back to our reality, he'll still be blind. Won't he?"

"I'm sorry."

They sat in silence for a moment. "What about Jesse?" He hadn't asked it, so she did.

Adam sighed deeply, squeezed her hand. "Hopefully our Jesse is fine."

That wasn't what she meant. She swallowed at the lump in her throat. "Explain multiple dimensions to me. Just the Reader's Digest version."

"In theory," Adam began, trying to keep from going into a quantum physics lecture, "there are actually infinite planes of existence, alternate realities than the one we currently perceive. In these other dimensions, every possible outcome of every event, every decision, is realized. Some worlds would be almost exact copies of our own, while others are vastly different. It's been theorized that it could be possible to cross from one reality to another by way of something called the Einstein-Rosen Bridge."

Emma held up her hand to stop his speech. "But are these other planes real? Or is it just a figment of our minds? We only think our current reality is here, but it's not actually?"

"No, where we are is very real."

"And this Jesse is real?"

"Yes."

Emma stood up, pushed back her hair again. So they were basically just going to screw this Jesse over? That certainly wasn't acting as though he were real. Adam didn't even seem to want to acknowledge him at all, other than as some form of proof of scientific theory.

Maybe it was easier that way. "This is going to be safe for Brennan, right? Recreating the whole transporter malfunction that brought us here?"

Adam's expression became puzzled.

"Star Trek," Emma said simply. "It's always a transporter accident."

"Ah." Adam nodded. "If it's not an acceptable risk, we won't do it."

"I want to do it," she stated with determination. "So long as you, me, and Brennan get across in one piece. That's all that matters."

"We'll find a way," he assured her.

Emma practically smiled. The three of them would be going home.

-----

Another day passed by, and Emma was lost in her thoughts. She still hadn't decided how and when to tell Brennan. He'd want to know that Shalimar could still be alive, and yet telling him now seemed like jumping the gun. Although, perhaps false hope was still better than no hope at all.

She entered the kitchen to help prepare dinner. Jesse and Brennan were already there, making use of the microwave. So it would be leftover takeout again tonight.

"Hi," she said by means of announcing her presence.

"Hey, Emma," Jesse said in reply.

Brennan remained silent. He, after all, didn't need to speak for them to locate him. He was at the counter, pouring himself a drink. He'd stuck his finger in the cup so he would know when it was full. In his place, Emma probably would have gone for something in a can, but she was glad to see him adjusting so well. He took a sip and frowned, clearly not having the drink he thought he'd gotten. He didn't complain and merely took another sip.

There was a Band-Aid across his freshly-shaven chin. She looked to Jesse who shrugged. "Did you tell him about the white sock?"

"Game," Jesse said quickly. "The White Sox game. They lost, Bren. Sorry, bro."

This time Emma was the one to shrug. Then the microwave finally dinged. She walked over to Brennan, lightly taking his arm. "Come on, I'll walk you to the table."

"I know where it is," he replied, shrugging away from her.

"I wasn't implying that you didn't," she said awkwardly. "I was just offering to walk with you."

"What's next, Emma? You'll offer to cut my food for me?" His tone was frustrated, telling her to back off.

She allowed him his space. "I didn't mean anything by it." She retrieved their meal from the microwave and headed for the table.

Her footsteps were loud, and the charm bracelet neither Brennan nor Jesse could recall her ever wearing before made a tinkling sound as she moved. Brennan sighed, but he was actually grateful for her efforts.

"Hey, Jess."

Jesse glanced over at him. "Yeah?"

"What color is the other one?" he asked.

Jesse didn't insult him by asking what he meant. "It's brown, Bren."

Then Brennan surprised him by starting to laugh, a true laugh for the first time in a long time. "Guess I need to start tying them together."

Jesse let himself laugh also. "You want to know what the hell you're drinking?"

Brennan nodded. "Yes. Please!"

In the other room, Emma smiled, momentarily forgetting that things were supposed to be bad this way. She didn't think about parallel worlds at all during dinner.

-----

That night, Emma was the last to bed again. She walked past Brennan's room and stopped to quietly turn off his light. In the morning, she would turn it back on.

She paused at her own room, but then changed her mind and went to check on Jesse as well. She stood in his doorway, watching him sleep. He tossed ever so slightly, and Emma wondered if the nightmares would ever stop coming.

What happened to him when she and Brennan left with Adam? All because of one little event that he recalled differently. She rubbed her tired eyes. What if she'd just allowed herself to get sucked into Adam's denial? It was convenient, wasn't it? It worked out nicely that Shal and Jesse were the ones who weren't from their reality.

Brennan's blindness was acceptable to Adam, but Shalimar and Jesse were like his children. He'd been absolutely distraught when they'd nearly lost Jesse as well as Shal. And Emma and Adam had both cried when...

Her eyes wandered to the dark silhouette of the wheelchair in the shadows beside his bed.

It would be so much easier to just pretend it never happened. They could just write this version of Jesse off, trade for a new one that wasn't broken.

He'd been Emma's sole friend and support for the last four months. Could she be like Adam and treat him as though he didn't matter? Well, she supposed she had half a year to figure it out.

"Emma." A hand softly touched her shoulder.

She spun, shocked to see Adam standing behind her. "What are you doing here?" She tried to keep her voice low and not wake Jesse. Adam didn't even look at him, only at her and the hallway.

"We need to wake Brennan." His tone was also hushed.

"What's going on?"

"We need to go tonight," he told her.

She didn't need to ask where. "Already? But you said..."

"I've reason to believe we don't need to recreate the gateway," he explained in a whisper. "I think the door is still there. We just need Brennan to act as the key."

"We're going right now?" she repeated.

"If we wait, the bridge between realities could collapse, if it hasn't already." His voice was urgent. Four months had already been too long. "If that happens, we will be faced with needing to recreate it, and without being able to work with the Brennan on the other side, we might never re-establish it, or we might end up in yet another dimension entirely."

"We're going tonight." She sounded like a broken record, except this time it wasn't a question. They were really doing this. Now.

It was time to go home.

-----


	6. coloradospace

The walk to Brennan's room seemed very short compared to the thoughts that plagued Emma. What would they tell him? The truth, obviously, but would he be able to handle it? He had been through so much. He just started to be himself again, the independent and protective young man she met two years ago. Well, two years and four months. He started to live again, with her help, and Jesse's. _My God, will he be able to leave this Jesse behind?_ Instinctively, she knew the answer. It was the same as hers.  
  
"...him?"

"What? Oh, excuse me, Adam, I didn't hear you, I might have spaced out for a little while," she said with a small smile. That's when she realized they were at Brennan's room door.  
  
Adam looked at her as if trying to see if she was alright. Due to the situation, the question seemed absurd. Would they ever be all right? He had to take them home, to help them. After all, they were his children...  
  
"I was just thinking it might be best if you talked to him. He knows you, you share a special bond. And, well, he will most likely resent me for leaving and for this mess."  
  
"Oh, so you send me to do the dirty work." She tried to lighten the mood but her joke came out flat. They both knew how Bren would most likely react, and it wouldn't be pretty.  
  
"And here goes nothing," Emma said, bracing herself for what was to come.

-----

Brennan tossed and turned in his sleep. He had heard Emma stop by earlier to turn off the light... or was it to turn it on? He didn't know anymore, but what was the purpose. The light wouldn't make a difference. He still would wear a pink shirt with green pants... Sleep was nowhere near from coming. Each time he closed his eyes, he saw the explosion. He saw Emma falling toward the ground. He heard the building blow, Shalimar screaming from fear. Adam telling them to hang on. What had they done to deserve this? He swore to himself at that moment that he would make Eckhart pay. No matter how long it would take, no matter if he died in the process, Mason Eckhart would die by his bare hands from all the hurt he put them through.   
  
"Brennan..."  
  
He was so focused on his plan of revenge that he didn't hear Emma coming. Her soft voice put him out of his dark thoughts... for now.  
  
"Brennan, wake up," she whispered, posing her delicate hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I'm awake. It isn't morning already, is it? I know I couldn't sleep, but still..."  
  
"No, Bren, it's not morning," interrupted his friend. "I need to tell you something..."  
  
"Why don't I like the way you're whispering?"

Emma stared at him for a minute, biting her lips. She didn't know how to explain it to him. God, she was going to kill Adam for making her do this. Oh right, she couldn't. He was their only chance of getting back. Realizing sarcasm was leading her nowhere and feeling that Brennan worried more and more as seconds went by, she started to speak again. She touched his hand, needed his reassurance that everything would be okay maybe more than he needed hers.  
  
"Brennan, there's something you need to know. What I will say will be hard, but you have to trust me, okay?"  
  
"Emm..." He stopped mid-sentence, sensing it was no time for joking. "Go ahead."   
  
"Okay. Well, the other day, I went to see Adam at the safe-house..."  
  
"What! Emma!" he interrupted again.   
  
"Brennan, you promised!" As he nodded and sat in his bed, she continued.  
"Adam exposed me to this theory that we weren't in our world, that we were in some kind of parallel universe. At first, I wouldn't believe him, but it's true, Bren. We need to go home, now."

As he sat in complete silence, not moving, nodding, or any outburst, Emma started to worry big time.  
  
Brennan was numb. He wasn't home. Was it some kind of joke? No, it couldn't be, Emma wouldn't do that to him. He knew her. Hell, he sensed her. Wait, she said Adam was in this. His blow to the head might have been harder than his. He might have gotten nuts. Parallel universes couldn't exist, could they? Adam was wrong, they were home, he was home, with his friends, Emma and Jesse. Jess?  
  
"Emma," he said with a calm tone, too soft for her liking, "if, and I mean a big if, I believe what you just said, how did it happen and who goes back?"  
  
"From what I understood, you did it. I don't know how, you'll have to speak with Adam for the details, but the who are you, me, and Adam." She gulped as she said it, closing her eyes, feeling as if she just stabbed Jesse in his back. She couldn't abandon him, and that was what they were doing.  
  
"So we leave Jesse behind, admitting that what you said is true, am I right?" Brennan was clenching his fits by now and she could almost see some electricity running all over him. Emma almost felt a bolt of electricity on the hand that was touching his before he took big gulps of air to try to calm his raging nerves.  
  
From the doorway, silent tears were streaming down Adam's cheeks. He lowered his head in shame, knowing that all this had happened because of him. If only he hadn't been an egocentric scientist, if only he had been more careful that day, if only... His kids were hurting and he wasn't there when they needed him the most. He was the one to cause them pain. Would they ever forgive him? Not a chance, he knew it. Just like he knew that Brennan would survive. The kid was a survivor. He proved it time and time again. As did Emma. She wasn't innocent anymore, her heart might have become cold at times from what they lived, but Brennan was there to remind her who she was, always, just like she did now.  
  
"You can come in, Adam." As Brennan said this, the older man came back from his thoughts and self-guilt trip. Now was not the time, he reminded himself. "Now, Adam, I want you to listen to me, and do it good because I won't repeat myself," threatened the elemental. "I may not be able to see with my own eyes, but I'm not totally blind, I'm not stupid, and I don't take shit from anyone, least of all you! Emma just told me a nice story here, so you better explain, because believe or not, I will seriously kick you're ass if you mess up with us again. Tell me what this parallel thing is about, how we came here, and how we go back. And on the bright side, if I am happy with what you say, you'll have the pleasure of telling Jesse that we are not his family but some kind of dupes."  
  
Adam gulped audibly, knowing that what Brennan said was no threat. It was a promise.  
  
--------

tbc 


	7. frickangel

It was always odd, that when you least want it, the softest noises can sound like a car bomb.  
  
Especially when it echoes down an empty corridor.  
  
The door closed with a whispered click and it worried Emma that Jesse might hear.  
  
It did strike Emma that this whole thing was in a way humorous, three broken figures locked in a room, hiding secrets and planning an escape.  
  
**_But an escape from what?_** that voice returned.  
  
From a world that we desperately not want to be ours.  
  
**_Coward._** it mocked.  
  
We don't belong here.  
  
**_Then why are you keeping this from Jesse?_**  
  
Because we don't want to hurt him.  
  
**_Liar!_**   
  
No!   
  
**_It's because you don't want this Jesse. This wasn't the Jesse you remembered. He's broken, go get a new one, right?_**  
  
"No..." her voice escaped from her lips.  
  
"Emma?"   
  
She turned from facing the door. Adam stared at her; questions filled his eyes.  
  
"We can't just leave Jesse like this."  
  
"And what do you expect us to do?" The older man quizzed.  
  
"We tell him. At least let him know that we aren't abandoning him."   
  
"Will Jesse be left alone?"  
  
A question so simple that left Adam and Emma silent for a few moments. Brennan sat on the bed and the question he asked, hung in the air.   
  
"I have a theory, but I'm not too sure whether it's solid." Bobbing his head, Adam sat on the desk and contemplated on something. "If we're here, then where are this worlds' us?"  
  
He had a point.  
  
"So," he continued, 'if I'm right, we actually, in a sense, switched places."  
  
"And if we go back to our world?"  
  
"When we get back to our world, my theory is that the original 'us' of this world will return as well."  
  
"Jesse won't be alone?"  
  
"I don't think so, no."  
  
Brennan shifted on the bed, causing the sheets to ruffle. This whole thing felt like a clandestine affair. It felt wrong.  
  
"Explain this whole thing to me again." Brennan demanded.  
  
"It's like this," Adam sighed and focussed his attention on the elemental. "Imagine your life and one day you're faced with a choice. You choose A, and you live on with it. But you could've taken choice B, so therefore somewhere out there, a parallel universe is created where you chose B."  
  
"And this universe..."  
  
"Could be spawned from any of our different choices." Adam finished the sentence.  
  
"Just how many universes are out there?" Brennan joked, not meaning it to be an actual question, but leave it to the ever-thinking Adam to answer something like that.  
  
"Too many to keep track off, probably an infinite amount."  
  
**_An infinite amount_** Emma pondered.  
  
"And I caused this with my powers, throwing us all here?"  
  
"Yes."   
  
"Nice to know that. Okay... I think I've got it." Brennan clasped his hands together and smiled sarcastically.  
  
/i/bInfinite possibilities/i/b.  
  
What if?  
  
"Brennan?" Emma kneeled next to Brennan, placing her hand on his arm.  
  
I'm asking you again God, please let this be a dream. Let him tell me what I want to hear.  
  
"I want you to tell me, how we came into Mutant X.," she gently questioned him.  
  
"What?" He looked lost.  
  
Adam joined in the confusion, "Emma?"  
  
"Brennan, please, just tell me."  
  
"I uh... you ran into me at a club." He began.  
  
She nodded, even though Brennan wouldn't know she had.  
  
"You kinda blasted me with your whole empathy emotion thing, then you ran out. The next thing I knew was that you came back again to the same club later that week."  
  
**_Thank you God_**. She smiled in relief.  
  
"Then we ran from..."  
  
"The GSA," she was smiling wider now and laughing, this was the Brennan she knew.  
  
"Yeah, sucks when you got caught though, we had to go save you."  
  
Her lips felt dry, her palm sweaty- her heart in shock. She exchanged glances with Adam. "Adam, your turn. How did it happen?" her voice was barely above a whisper, fear grabbed from within.  
  
"What's going on?" Brennan fell into the hold of confusion once more, if this was frustrating and scary to Emma, she couldn't even begin to imagine how it must be for Brennan.  
  
"It's as Brennan told," Adam spoke out. "But Brennan," he turned to the other man, "You were the one that got caught by the GSA."   
  
"Wait! What does this mean?" He sounded desperate to know, he **was** desperate to understand it. Emma held on to Brennan's hand tighter in hopes of comforting him.  
  
"It means, we are from separate realities."  
  
She hated it when she had to cry, but the tears rolled down her cheeks, falling softly on Brennan's arm. "You and Jesse are from different worlds from Adam and I."  
  
"No Emma, we aren't." the scientist hid himself in the shadows; the darkness muffled his voice as well.  
  
"Adam... you aren't telling me everything are you?" she said, the emotion threatened to break and force her into complete silence. But she needed to know.  
  
"No." he simply said, but no explanation.  
  
Right there and then, all Emma could think about was to not care about this anymore. Go to back to her room, lie on the bed and never wake up again. This world's Shalimar had the right idea. Or was she even from this world? Guess we'll never know.  
  
"Damn it, Adam!" Brennan bellowed. "I need answers!"  
  
He didn't even flinch, no emotions present. It was as if Adam had forgotten how to feel, forgotten how to be human.  
  
"I'm not from your reality Emma. A part of me wants to, but I'm not. I can't lie to myself and to you."  
  
"What do you mean Adam, you're not making any sense." She asked, her knees were beginning to hurt from kneeling so long, her hands going cold.  
  
"The moment I woke up in the hospital and saw you, I knew something wasn't right. In my world, Emma, you died half a year ago."  
  
There have been a lot of 'what's' and 'how's' the whole night, Emma didn't feel like adding anymore to the list.  
  
"In my world, you died with Tyler,"  
  
She flinched, still hurting from his death, or it seems now she had died with him. It had this strange feeling. Which choice had she made to cause that?  
  
"But in this world, Shalimar's dead, and Jesse was so close to death, I couldn't take it. I know I've failed everyone, like how I had lost you."  
  
"How is that possible?" Brennan with more of his questions, it was getting very annoying.  
  
"The gateway that opened, somehow went into different worlds and realities, like when you have a cross line on a phone conversation, putting us all in one world. This one."  
  
"None of us really know each other? We aren't really the people we know?"   
  
God, Brennan no more questions! Why did he suddenly want to know everything?  
  
Sighing and shaking his head, Adam drew back into the shadows again. "No, not the one's we know. In a sense we're all strangers."   
  
Whether intentionally or not, Brennan withdrew his hand from Emma's. Her hands were left empty and cold.  
  
**_Strangers_**.   
  
That was the last thing Emma heard, standing up and trying to take it in, Emma turned, reaching for the door and nearly colliding with the man in the wheelchair.  
  
Jesse...   
  
His face told the truth, he had heard everything, knew everything. Slowly, he moved out of her way and let her pass through.  
  
She almost smiled, hesitated for a moment but she left and rushed down the corridor.  
  
**_Run, run as fast as you can,_** the voice said, **_They can't catch you, you're the gingerbread man_**.  
  
But I'm not the gingerbread man.  
  
She ran past the rooms, remembering Jesse's hurt expression, felt the pain he was feeling.  
  
**_No you're not, but at least it rhymes. Where are you going to go Emma? What are you going to do? You don't belong here, neither do they._**   
  
I don't know.  
  
**_You don't know?_**  
  
No, I don't know.  
  
**_That's not good..._**  
  
-------


	8. AliasJaneDoe

**Chapter 8**

**By AliasJaneDoe **

The three men all regarded each other in silence after Emma ran off. Finally, Brennan spoke. "So which one of us is going after her?"

Jesse and Adam both stared at each other.

The quiet was unbearable, and Brennan couldn't tolerate it another second. He flung his legs over the edge of his bed and got up. "Fine," he said to the others, "I will."

After stumbling his way into the hall, he stopped. "Well?" he demanded. "Which way did she go?"

"I'll get her," Adam said, moving past an upset Brennan. He rushed in the direction Emma had fled. It didn't take him long to locate her. She was furiously kicking and pounding the floor and walls of the dojo.

"Emma, I know that right now you must be feeling--" he began, positioned at the bottom of the stairs.

"You LIED to me!" she screamed at him.

"Yes, I did," he replied. "But you need to calm down. You're going to break something."

"I'm trying to break it! I want this damn thing to turn off, I want the fake world to go away, I want it off so I can be back home again where everything - everyone - is real." She glared down at him. "You're lucky I don't have an active power to use against you."

He sighed. "You do have an active power, Emma. You're just choosing not to use it. That kind of behavior won't accomplish anything. You know this. Now let's all sit down and talk about the situation."

"No." She shook her head. "And my power wouldn't work on you. You're required to be able to feel!"

He could certainly feel her rage.

"You promised, Adam!" Her expression transformed into one of pure hurt. Heartache. "You betrayed me. You screwed me over, Adam. You screwed us... and Brennan's going to kill you for it." He'd promised to kick Adam's ass, and Brennan actually kept his word. Unlike this sick version of Adam that she didn't know who was twisting the knife he'd stabbed in her back.

-----

Brennan leaned against the wall and sank to the floor. He tilted his head back, gasped for air because there suddenly didn't seem to be any.

Jesse saw the tears which streaked his face. "Bren..." He hesitated a moment. "You and I... we could both belong here, couldn't we? Our stories match."

Brennan was glad he couldn't see the hope that must have been in Jesse's eyes. "They match because you told me." Jesse had shared the conversation he had with Emma, concerned about her. "You said she... You told me she admitted to being mistaken."

"Brennan, what are you saying?" Jesse asked, confused, desperate. Brennan hadn't only agreed with him then to humor him. He couldn't have. "What are you doing to me?" he added silently.

"I lied."

The two small words were so quiet Jesse almost swore he didn't hear them. He couldn't have heard them. "What?"

Brennan bolted back to his feet, rounded on Jesse. "I lied." This time it came out very clearly. "What I said was wrong, and I am not losing Emma over it. I was wrong, and I won't give her up. I lied..."

He sounded more desperate to have it be a lie than Jesse was for it to have been truth. He looked so shattered that Jesse wondered if now was the lie, if Brennan was lying to keep her instead of him. "So, if we get this sorted out, then you three all still leave, and I supposedly get copies of you that are entirely different people who are living some other life in some other reality right now. You send them back here?"

"Yeah, Jess..." His tone was normal again, or it was a forced calm.

He took a deep breath and then let it out in a huff. "Doesn't seem very fair."

This time Brennan took the deep breath, but he let it out slowly, buying himself a moment before responding. "I know it seems like we're all willing to just abandon you..."

"No, that's not what I meant." He yanked at the wheels of the chair, doing several back and forth movements that allowed him to turn within the hallway so that he was pointed back toward his room. "I meant that it's not fair to them."

Brennan leaned back against the wall again, feeling very guilty.

-----

An hour later, after they'd all had a chance to gather their thoughts, they regrouped in the main room. Brennan and Emma took the couch, and Adam sat in the large chair. There was another empty chair, but Jesse merely parked his wheelchair beside it.

"So who's leaving?" Jesse said. They were all thinking it.

"Can we still go?" Emma asked. "If the gateway connects to multiple worlds, then what's the point?"

"Five," Brennan commented. "It likely only goes to five, maybe just three... counting this one. I mean, we didn't get any doubles, right? And nobody is missing either. Makes me think every world just got one complete set. So we'd still have good odds, considering."

"No... I'm a double." Emma held more tightly to Brennan's hand, not knowing when he'd grasped hers. "Adam said I'm dead."

"On his world," Brennan corrected, "not this one. For now, let's just assume we're on Jesse's."

"The more grim possibility is that while there is only one of each of us here, that might not be the case in the other dimensions," Adam stated. "Also, each reality might have a set, as you said. We, however, have no way to know if only five dimensions were involved."

"It's probably three," Emma said, needing to accept that she and this Brennan did belong together, because if they didn't, if she were alone... she thought she might just want to die. "What are the odds of more than that? How many copies of us could have all been at Naxcon at the same time, doing exactly the same thing so that we could switch like we did?"

Jesse frowned. "Quite good," he remarked, not sure if he should bother trying to be optimistic about this whole ordeal. "In fact, if popular theory is correct, an infinite number of us all were in that same explosion. And an infinite number of us weren't."

"Let's go with Brennan's assessment for the time being," Adam suggested.

"If so, then what?" Emma looked around the room at them.

"You still try to sort yourselves out," Jesse said. "You still go. It's the same as before, only now you'll need to go to five parallel realities. Play roulette until you work it out."

"So who's going?"

And they were back to square one.

"I'm staying with Emma," Brennan said. "Or going with her. Just together, we're going or not together. We are not from different worlds, and I refuse to accept that. I was holding her at the time, there's no way we didn't dimension hop together. There isn't."

"About three inches to your right," Jesse informed Brennan automatically.

Emma hadn't even noticed yet that he'd reached for his glass of water. Despite being on the opposite side of the coffee table, Jesse hadn't directed him the wrong way either.

"Thanks," Brennan replied awkwardly, finding the cup.

Adam stood. "If any of us are leaving, it needs to be now."

"Do you think it'll happen like before?" Emma was nervous again. She played with the fingers of Brennan's left hand. "Will we switch places with other versions of us?"

"This time, we likely won't." Adam was using hand gestures again, causing the others to dread some complicated scientific explanation. "In each reality, we have all been living different lives since the explosion. The odds of any of us returning to the same point at the same moment yet again, this time with the intention of trading places, are rather improbable."

Emma wrinkled her nose. "I thought they were infinite."

"But we're just dealing with a handful of possibilities now," Brennan corrected.

"But for every decision, a new dimension is formed, right?" Her brow furrowed farther. "So right this moment, that limited number of worlds is splitting off into a whole lot more. I mean, all somebody has to do is say 'pick a number between one and ten' and we're completely screwed."

Brennan squeezed her hand. "I think you're making this more difficult than it needs to be, sweetie." He grinned at her.

"Well then, I guess yes." She glanced at Adam and Jesse, then looked to Brennan. "I want to try."

"Me too then." Once more, Brennan was glad he wasn't able to meet Jesse's eyes.

-----

The three of them stood amongst the remains of the Naxcon building, feeling utterly dejected. They'd finally just went for it.

And absolutely nothing had happened.

"What went wrong?" Emma said, her voice sad and confused. Brennan draped his arm around her.

"It's possible the gateway is no longer here," Adam replied. "Or we can't re-establish it from only one side."

"Let's call it a night, go home, and get some breakfast," suggested Brennan. "I'm tired and starving."

"Yeah, I guess," Emma relented, snuggling herself against him in the crisp early morning air. "I could use some chocolate chip pancakes right about now."

"I'm going to return to the safe-house, try to figure this out," Adam told them. They'd taken two separate cars, so it wasn't a problem. They'd all suspected it might not work. At least now they didn't need to feel guilty over leaving Jesse behind.

"We'll see you tomorrow." He actually meant later that day, and he couldn't actually see anything either, but Brennan didn't correct himself.

Adam nodded, and they parted ways. On the walk back to his car, he noticed a sign attached to the chain-link fence that had been set-up around the property after the explosion. It was a notice that construction of a new building would be starting. Adam checked the date. It was in two weeks.

-----

Emma steered Brennan into the kitchen back at Sanctuary. "Pancakes now, wake Jesse once there's coffee?"

"Sounds like a plan." He let go of her arm so that she could prepare the meal.

Emma went about her task of scurrying around, gathering supplies. She began searching for the chocolate chips, then frowned. "Who ate all the Jell-O?" There'd been plenty just last week.

"I did."

Emma swirled around at the unfamiliar voice. A tall brunette woman, who was already wearing mascara at six in the morning, was standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. Emma merely blinked several times.

"Who's your friend, Brennan?" the woman asked, clearly not amused.

At that moment, a scruffy-looking Jesse who still had bed hair stumbled his way into the room. He held an empty mug in one hand. "Okay, Lex, just point me at the coffee and then--"

He suddenly froze, his gaze locked on Emma. The expression of looking like they'd seen a ghost accurately described them both. She didn't realize he dropped the mug until it shattered.

"Oh my god..."

-----


	9. frickangel

**Chapter 9**

**By frickangel**

It was a funny game of "when-I-stare-at-you-you-can-stare-back-or-pretend-you're-looking-away" that was being played between the five of them.  
  
"So let me get this straight..." the almighty brunette stood up, paraded back and forth the hall, hands on the hips and with one sarcastic smile etched on her face. "You're Emma, the god knows how many-eth Emma in this infinite number of worlds and so is Brennan?"  
  
"Just like us, Lexa."  
  
"You know Jesse, you are not helping." She snapped back and plopped herself into one of the couches.  
  
Shrugging, yet quietly satisfied with his own self for having to make Lexa sound bad, Jesse fingered the crystal chess pieces of the board.  
  
Across him, Brennan sat next to Emma, the friend whom he thought they had lost, was sitting there and looking weary. He could see her holding on tightly to Brennan's arm, for what, he didn't know. Maybe she felt she needed to protect him, or maybe it was the other way around.   
  
"I hated science for a reason." Shalimar muttered, she shifted her position just to get more comfortable on the couch's arm rest, she gave a small glance at Jesse and looked up once more. "Scientists could never accept the fact that a sky is blue, they just had to go explain the reason it was blue."  
  
Damn, just when did she become so philosophical? "What?" Jesse eyed the feral and arched both eyebrows.  
  
"Nothing, Jess." She patted his shoulder and balanced herself again, avoiding crashing on him.  
  
"We don't know much either, we were just trying to get home." Emma tried explaining. "We need to get to Adam."  
  
"Where is he?" Lexa asked, actually, ask was an understatement, it was more of an order.  
  
"He mentioned something about a safe house." Brennan offered his help, patting Emma's hand gently, but never breaking his straight ahead gaze. "Just I'm not too sure which."  
  
"Well if he is there, he would've known we were on another reality, the things wouldn't be the same in the safe house." Emma theorised and pondered. Her petite frame seemed to shrink further under a whole load of thought. "Then again, wouldn't that mean he would've return to Sanctuary by now?"  
  
"You know what Emm?" Shalimar swung her leg over the arm rest and planted her two feet on the floor. "Maybe you and Bren better get some rest."  
  
"Whoa..." Lexa interrupted and bolted up. "We need to find Adam."   
  
Shalimar was already mid way helping Emma with Brennan. "Screw Adam. If that bastard can lie to Emma and leave the others behind for his own selfishness, I don't think I want to waste my time looking for his sorry ass existence."  
  
"Shal, he's the only one who can help in this." Trying to slow her down, Brennan tried putting a bit of resistance in his step, it worked on Emma, she stopped. But never try that on a feral, she'll just push, or pull, harder.  
  
"As far as I'm concern, you are home, both you and Emma." She paused, smiling at Emma. "Now shut up before I carry you to your bedroom."   
  
"Shalimar!" Lexa protested once again.  
  
"Lex, shut up before I do something to you to." Jesse threatened, stepping in between her and the three other mutants. "And believe me, I won't be as nice as Shalimar and carry you."  
  
Narrowing her eyes, Lexa tried awarding her best glare at Jesse.  
  
He stood his ground and smiled back. Just a simple smile-- nothing fancy.  
  
"Fine." She grumbled and stormed off in the opposite directions, her hands thrown up in frustration. Jesse was part expecting her to at least punch him. Guess she wasn't in the mood.  
  
Turning behind, Jesse shrugged and sighed, "She'll be fine, probably just PMS."  
  
"Come on; let's get you two to your rooms." Shalimar changed the subject and softly tugged at Brennan's shirt.  
  
Instead of silent obedience, Brennan seemed to have decided he was going to be a rebel, exactly there and then.  
  
"I can handle myself!" He shrugged off Emma and Shalimar before stumbling off into the rough direction of his room, hands outstretched trying to manoeuvre his way.  
  
Emma's hand flew up and caught Shalimar just as she was about to lash at Brennan. Her eyes spoke of softness and understanding. _Let him be..._ she silently and wordlessly told.  
  
Seeing him grasping the world unsurely and searching for his way, Jesse ached within. Just yesterday there was a Brennan he knew, the brother he played basketball with and teased endlessly.  
  
The one he loved to hate sometimes.  
  
Emma's back and it seemed, well at least to him, that Brennan was paying for it. Life just isn't fair.  
  
"I'll follow him." Jesse volunteered and left the two women behind.   
  
After all, he couldn't abandon family like that, before moving after Brennan, Jesse reversed a little, lifted one of the chess pawns and dropped it on a black square.  
  
**_Checkmate_ **  
  
------   
  
"Here you go," Shalimar pushed back the door and revealed Emma's clean room, untouched and unchanged.  
  
"My god, it's still the same." She breathlessly said. With a fragile sense of reality, the Psionic ran her fingers lightly over every photo frame, every ornament—every memory.  
  
"Well, I couldn't stand packing up; I rather brave doing the cleaning once in a while than to do that." She smiled and leaned against the doorway, it's been a while since the room felt this warm and useful. Most of the time Shalimar felt it was a morbid tomb of memories which she couldn't bare to touch.  
  
"Is it just me or do I find it just strange?"  
  
_You mean besides seeing a dead friend?_ "Why?" Shalimar asked instead.  
  
"We're two people who were in the past four months, dead to each other."   
  
'Yes," she grinned, "There is that one thing..."  
  
Falling on the bed, Emma ran her hands over the soft sheets and took in a deep breath and let it out. Stepping over to the bedside, the blonde sat herself next to Emma and leaned her head on her shoulder.   
  
"Shal?" Emma whispered.  
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"Am I really home?"  
  
"I don't know," she looked at her dear friend, her tears flowing down. "Do you feel at home?"  
  
With distant looks in her eyes, Emma nodded.  
  
"Then," Shalimar was finally crying as well, months of anger and sadness built under just hours of joy, crashed through the thick walls that held her emotions behind. "You're home. You belong here."  
  
The two friends hugged. Together they had found the precious thing they had lost.  
  
------   
  
Laughter that escaped from the room felt odd, it's been a while since giggly laughter was heard here. Peeping through the doors, Lexa spied on Shalimar and Emma, both searching through a thick book-- a photo album.  
  
With each page turned, the girls broke out giggling and reminding each other of some silly trivial matter. Trivialness was something that Lexa will never understand.  
  
She knocked, they looked up but she wasn't about to wait for them to give permission. So hey, just push the door, open and enter.   
  
"Lexa?" Shalimar frowned as she saw the other woman walk through the entrance.  
  
She fidgeted a little and forced herself to say it, "I made you guys coffee, Jesse and Brennan's got some already- here." She held out her hands, both holding on to two porcelain mugs of steaming coffee.   
  
Confused, they took a little too long in deciding Lexa's intentions. Only there weren't any intentions, she just made coffee, big deal.   
  
Shalimar half got up to take the mugs, handed one to Emma before accepting the other. "Thanks,"  
  
"Just don't make this a habit."  
  
"So what are you looking at?" The words escaped before she realised she just showed interest in what they were doing.  
  
That wasn't what she had in mind.  
  
"Nothing," Emma answered before Shalimar could, "Just some old pictures,"   
  
"Right," she chewed on her lip and tried thinking of the right words. There weren't any. "I'll go now."  
  
"Wait."   
  
Turning back, Lexa figured it was time, Emma was about to unleash her anger at the molecular for "taking her place". _Let's get it done and over with_. "Yes?"  
  
"You could stay," she smiled, nothing false or sarcastic, just a plain invitation.  
  
"I..." she shook her head, happy for a small change in things, but not obvious. This deLauro was one smart girl after all. "Thanks, maybe some other time." She declined and stepped out, feeling a little better, but the fact is, her mission still hung heavily on her. It still doesn't change much.  
  
------   
  
Where were there?  
  
Left alone, in this world of emptiness, no one left but his own self.   
  
Jesse Kilmartin, a fallen shadow of what he used to be. Now here he was, sitting in his wheelchair, lost the middle of an empty world, everyone's gone.  
  
No one came back.  
  
Adam lied.  
  
Again.   
  
He should've known by now, never to trust anyone, even if it took 28 years to trust somebody. That was a stupid line.  
  
Well, now he learnt his lesson. But what's the use?  
  
There's no one left.  
  
Pushing his wheelchair down the empty hall, Jesse felt the silence cut through him, deafening him and forced him to hallucinate.  
  
He began to hear voices, the voices that kept calling his name.  
  
_It's a dream, no one's there... it's not real. Stop dreaming Jesse, they left you. __  
  
__Face it_.  
  
------


	10. AliasJaneDoe

**Chapter 10**

**By AliasJaneDoe**

Once back in the hallway, Lexa was glad to be leaving the sound of laughter behind her. She really didn't want to think about Emma right now. And just why had the other woman been nice to her? It wasn't like they were going to all be one big happy family.  
  
In the next room, Jesse and Brennan were talking. She heard her name and paused. Luckily, Jesse had his back to the door, and she didn't need to worry about Brennan spotting her. So, she naturally decided to eavesdrop.  
  
"Is she pretty?" Brennan asked.  
  
Lexa's eyebrows shot up at that. He didn't want to know who she was or if she could be trusted, but rather what she looked like? Jesse made a slight movement, possibly fidgeting. She wished she could see the expression on his face. It was actually a question she wanted to hear Jesse's answer to.  
  
"Umm, I guess so," Jesse eventually replied before taking a quick sip of his coffee.  
  
Lexa crossed her arms over her chest. He guessed so? She was damn attractive and he knew it! She would make him pay for that remark later.  
  
Brennan smiled. "So that's why you like her. Knew there was a reason."   
  
"I don't like her," he responded a bit too fast. "I mean, as a person, yeah I do - she's smart, opinionated--"  
  
"Arrogant, bossy, rude..." Brennan interrupted, his grin still firmly in place.  
  
"But I don't like her as in _like_ her," Jesse continued.   
  
Brennan made a snort of disbelief. "Did I?"  
  
"Hmm? No," Jesse answered. "Your double... strongly dislikes her actually."  
  
Lexa rolled her eyes. No news there. The Brennan she knew irritated her just as much as she did him. Good riddance, she figured. But Jesse liked her as a person, huh? That caused a tiny smile to creep onto her lips.  
  
"Doesn't matter, though. She probably won't stick around now that Adam and Emma are back." Jesse toyed with his coffee cup. Lexa's smile disappeared.  
  
"He's not our world's Adam," Brennan reminded him.  
  
Jesse nodded. "Right... but still, she isn't the commitment type. Too independent and has trust issues. I've always known she won't stick around. Besides, she's got her own agendas, just wish I knew what they were. All I know is, if they involve Mutant X, they still don't involve me."  
  
"So you do like her." The tone was less teasing now, more serious.   
  
Jesse sighed. "No." A pause. "There wouldn't be a point."   
  
Lexa stood there awhile, no longer listening, just standing. He was right, though. Her shameless flirting with Jesse was a pointless game. She did have her own agenda, and there was no place in it for him.  
  
"Do you have any Tylenol?" Brennan was asking when she returned her attention to inside that room. "Ever since we got here, I can't seem to get rid of this headache."  
  
"Yeah, I'll go get some."  
  
Jesse moved to stand, and Lexa instantly ducked out of sight. She hurriedly made her way to her own room, moving directly to the computer. She flicked it on.  
  
_We need to meet. I have new information._  
  
As soon as she finished typing the message, she hit send. Her superiors would want to know all about Adam Kane and Emma DeLauro.  
  
-----   
  
"Hey guys," Brennan called out upon returning to Sanctuary. He glanced briefly over at Adam. "I've got a story you are not going to believe!"  
  
Within seconds, the sound of his voice drew Lexa, Shalimar... and Emma... into the main room. Brennan openly gaped. "Or you might," he added.  
  
"Hello, Brennan," Emma greeted awkwardly.  
  
Before she could even blink, he closed the gap between them. A huge smile broke out across his face. He instantly had her in his arms, then he picked her up off her feet with his hug. "You are a sight for sore eyes, girl."  
  
"You might want to let her breathe, Bren," Shalimar teased, grinning also before recalling that they had two different copies of him now. She reluctantly looked to Adam, kept herself from flinching at his face. "Why is he still here? I thought they were supposed to have switched places."  
  
Brennan set Emma back on her feet, but he kept touching her, as if worried she might fade away and disappear. It took him a moment to register what Shalimar had said. "What's going on?"  
  
"He had no reason to be at Naxcon," Adam said to mainly Emma, knowing she would understand. "He wasn't at the portal in order to switch dimensions."  
  
Brennan wrinkled his brow in confusion. "Why would you guys have thought I wasn't here? I only went to check out the perimeter breach at the safe-house."  
  
"Brennan..."   
  
He turned toward the sound of Jesse's voice, and found his friend standing next to himself.  
  
-----   
  
Brennan took several deep breaths of the crisp outside air, attempting to digest what they'd told him. He slowly walked over to where two names were carved into the mountainside. He traced his fingers over one of them.  
  
_Emma DeLauro_  
  
"I know this is a lot to deal with," Shalimar said from behind him.   
  
"You just accepted that I was gone." He didn't move, keeping her at his back.  
  
"It isn't like that." She reached out to touch his arm, but then stopped, uncertain.  
  
"It sure seems like that."  
  
"Well, it isn't," she snapped sharply. "I hadn't even adjusted yet, Bren. Neither had Jess. It's not like we just wrote you off."   
  
"But you don't think I belong here." He finally did turn.  
  
She hesitated. "I think that this Emma does. And he..." She stared at Brennan. "We've never talked about the past, since..."   
  
"You think if we had, that it wouldn't match up?" He was afraid of her answer.  
  
"Maybe," she stated honestly. "I don't know. I do know I don't want to give either of you up."  
  
He wonder if "either" referred to him and him, or him and Emma. "But?"  
  
"The other Jesse." She couldn't just ignore that. "They left him alone, and he's hurt. And I know he isn't Jesse... but he's Jesse. If you are his Brennan, then it would be selfish of me to want to keep you."  
  
"What about what I want?" Anger laced his tone. "It's so easy for you. You get Emma back, and a new me to go with her. But I get to lose her all over again, and have you taken from me! All I get is some version of Jesse who's broken! You can't make me do that, can't guilt me into it. I won't go. If I go, I might not be able to come back. I need proof, and until then, I won't go. That isn't my reality."  
  
He rubbed at his temples. Shalimar had the nerve to act concerned. "You okay?"  
  
"Headache," he tossed back at her. "I'm going inside - it's freezing out here."  
  
-----   
  
"How'd you figure it out?" Brennan asked Emma and himself later that day.  
  
She took the hand of the Brennan she knew before answering the other one. "The order we were brought here, to Sanctuary."  
  
"You first, then me after you guys broke me out of Genomex. I made some crack about how it must be a bitch to clean the place. Jesse asked if I was always like that." He purposefully met Emma's eyes, something his double couldn't do. "You said, 'Always.' Like you knew me already, like you'd known me forever."  
  
Brennan clutched at her hand in response to that, and she felt him shiver. "It doesn't mean anything; Adam's version was the same," he said, and then he collapsed.  
  
-----   
  
"Adam, what is going on?" Emma asked in a panic. They were all gathered in the med lab. "Why won't he wake up?"  
  
"I don't know," Adam answered gravely. "Let me run some tests."  
  
"He has to wake up," she pleaded with him, needing him to be able to make things better. "I can't go through this again. I can't."   
  
The others were all silent.  
  
Adam started a scan. "Why is he still wearing his jacket?"   
  
"Because it's cold in here," the other Brennan replied.  
  
"No, it's not," Lexa stated. Shalimar shook her head also.  
  
Jesse watched Adam and Emma. "You two know something."  
  
"After the explosion, Brennan was in a coma for the better part of four months," Adam informed them.  
  
"But he was fine earlier," Emma demanded. "He was fine!"   
  
"Hey," Jesse said softly. "Come on, why don't we go to the other room for a little while and give Adam some space to work?"  
  
-----   
  
Several hours later, they were no closer to an answer. Brennan remained unconscious.  
  
Adam finished pulling on a sweater, agreeing that it was indeed chilly inside. Then he got a glass of water and gulped down several aspirin to fight off his headache before returning to work.  
  
Shalimar had forced him to leave Brennan's side long enough to get something to eat. He'd debated having a chat with Lexa, but decided that could be postponed until later.  
  
He had almost reached the lab when a frantic call from Shalimar interrupted him.  
  
-----   
  
Brennan woke up thrashing. Emma, who was keeping watch over him, was at his side instantly. Jesse, who was keeping watch on her, was only a step behind.  
  
"Brennan, it's going to be okay," Emma blurted in reassurance, trying to soothe him. He was trembling all over and clearly in a lot of pain.   
  
Jesse slipped an oxygen mask over his face to help him breathe, then he stepped back and raised his hand near his lips, speaking into his ring. "Adam, we need you. Something's wrong with Brennan."   
  
"I know," Adam's voice replied over the com-link. "Shalimar already called me. I'm on my way."  
  
"What do you mean Shalimar told you?" She wasn't even in the room. Then it struck him. Something was wrong with the other one also.   
  
-----   
  
TBC...   
  
Just a little note here: this is a round robin, a story written by multiple authors without any planning or outline. It's not just for the lXt mods. Anybody can play. Feel free to sign up for a chapter.


	11. Milmiss

**Chapter 11**

**By Milmiss**

Shalimar and Adam came bursting into the lab, supporting the passed out form of Brennan. They laid him down on one of the examination tables next to his other self.  
  
Shalimar was clearly agitated. "I don't know what happened. I mean, we were talking, and all of a sudden, he just blacked out."  
  
Adam was already in front of the main computer of the lab, ready to start a complete scan. "This can't be a coincidence."  
  
Emma was still bent above Brennan, whispering soothing words to him and caressing his face. "He's in a lot of pain, Adam," Emma said with difficulty. She was obviously receiving his feelings, possibly suffering as much as he was. But whatever she was doing seemed to work as his breathing was slowly easing. She looked over at the other elemental, who could have appeared peacefully asleep if it hadn't been for all the agitation around him.  
  
"What the hell is happening to them, Adam?" asked Jesse, looking from one Brennan to the other to finally turn towards Adam who had his back to him. "Please, tell me you can answer that."  
  
Still typing on the keyboard, Adam didn't bother turning around to answer him. "Let me run some tests first."  
  
"That's exactly what you said hours ago and we're still at the same point!" Jesse exclaimed, losing his temper. He had a very bad feeling about all this. Why couldn't things turn out right for once? Now that Emma was back, it looked like they were losing Brennan, both of them. "Actually, no, this is worse. Now they're both down!"  
  
Adam sighed deeply. His headache was getting worse and Jesse's outburst wasn't helping. He finally turned around, looking seriously at the molecular but keeping his voice down. "I'm perfectly aware of their current state. I'm doing the best I can here. Now if you could let me do a scan of Brennan, I may be able to give you answers."  
  
Before Jesse could reply, Shalimar gently laid a hand on his arm to prevent a more serious altercation. A fight wouldn't help the situation. Jesse looked at her and got the hint, staying quiet but absolutely not calming down.  
  
But Adam hadn't bothered to wait for a reply from the molecular; he was already back working to get the scan ready. "Why don't you all go grab something to eat while I make sense of what's happening?" This was a simple suggestion, but it sure sounded more like a "Get the hell out of here so that I can work properly." After a few seconds, he looked over his shoulder. "Well?"  
  
Shalimar and Jesse slowly backed off, heading for the door, as Emma let go of Brennan's hand to leave Adam alone. But the elemental instantly extended his arm and luckily grabbed Emma's before she could make a move. The oxygen mask was preventing him to speak, so he gently squeezed her arm, hoping she would understand. Emma looked him in the eyes, even if he couldn't return the stare and was immediately assaulted by a feeling of insecurity.  
  
"He wants me to stay, Adam," she said quietly. _And I want to, don't make me leave_. Her eyes were literally pleading with him.  
  
"Alright, you can stay." Her presence seemed to calm him. Adam turned his attention towards the two other members of Mutant X. "You two, out." That said, he finally launched the scan.  
  
"What can I do to help?" asked Emma while he waited for the results.

----  
  
Lexa exited the building and walked towards her car. She was in a very bad mood. The meeting with her bosses, the big shots of the Dominion, had been all but restless. She got in the car and headed back to the Sanctuary, pondering what had been said just moments ago.  
  
She had started to explain, as best as she could, or truly as best as she had understood it, the concept of different dimensions, but the Dominion had interrupted her, pressing her to get to the point. When she had confirmed he fact that the psionic was indeed alive and that it seemed that she truly was from their reality, the meeting had taken a totally different turn. And she wasn't ready at all for what was about to come.  
  
_"We didn't work that hard to have her killed four months ago to have to deal with her again. She was the only one who could have put a spoke in our wheel, that's why we got rid of her."  
  
Lexa had for long learned to read between the lines with them. "So, you want me to take care of that?"  
  
"She was and still is a threat to our mission. Make her disappear."_  
  
Easier said than done, thought Lexa when she closed the door, having reached Stormking Mountain. If it was just up to her, she would just throw one of her lasers at Emma and the job would be done. But no, why make it easy, when it can be hard? The Dominion had made it clear that she couldn't blow her cover, and killing her would likely have that effect. So she had to make her leave. And she would leave, if she was sure she wasn't home. And that part  
would be hard. Convincing her was going to be tough for Lexa didn't know her at all. And on top of that, how can you hide your real intentions from a psionic?  
  
She was hating this assignment more and more every minute.  
  
As she opened the door of the garage, she heard voices coming from the center of the Sanctuary. She let out a resolute sigh and went towards the sounds of the voices.

----  
  
"I examined closely the brainwaves of both Brennans," began Adam as he sat down in front of Shalimar and Jesse. Emma was still in the med lab with the elementals - there hadn't been much change since the second Brennan had passed out. "And I do have a theory." He had already explained it to Emma, and if she had thought he had lost his mind when he had told her about different dimensions, she had been tempted to tell him to lie down and to get some sleep after having heard him a few minutes ago.  
  
"So, what is going on?"  
  
Adam was ready to answer Shalimar when footsteps echoed in the Sanctuary. They all looked up to see Lexa walking towards them, looking as always self-assured.  
  
"Where have you been?" asked Jesse.  
  
"None of your business," she replied coldly before noticing that they weren't all there. Emma wasn't present, not a bad thing, she wasn't ready to deal with her that soon. "Where are the twins?"  
  
"If by that you're referring to Brennan and..." Jesse paused, feeling slightly confused, "Bren..."  
  
"Hey, let's make it simple: BlindBren and Sparky are perfect nicknames to differentiate them."  
  
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't believe it, he was in kindergarten. Or maybe his headache was making him hear things. "Lexa, could you please sit down, I'm trying to explain what's going on."  
  
Still standing, Lexa crossed her arms, looking at Adam. She wasn't ready to receive orders from this man, he wasn't the one she had known years ago, and even if he was, she wasn't sure she would have obeyed anyway. However, she remained silent.  
  
"They're both in the med lab, one awake, the other not. Their brainwaves make me believe that they're kind of fighting against each other." The three mutants frowned as one, and the sight would have been comical if the situation hadn't been that bad. "I think that their metabolism registered the fact that there were two of them where there should be just one."  
  
"So the world can't put up with two Brennans? What a shock. One is already awful enough."  
  
"They're basically trying to get rid of the other," resumed Adam, purposely ignoring Lexa's comment. "I doubt it's conscious but it's not good for they won't stop until..."  
  
"They're trying to kill each other?" interrupted Shalimar, not believing what she was hearing.  
  
"I guess it's a good way to summarise it."  
  
"Is there a way to stop it?" asked Jesse.  
  
Adam shrugged. "I guess the only way to prevent the death of one of them is to figure out which one belongs here and to make sure that the other returns to his dimension." He hadn't gone that far with Emma, he had no idea how she would react.  
  
He got up, wanting to let Shalimar and Jesse absorb the news and faced Lexa. "I need to talk to you." But before he could make a move, he collapsed on the floor.  
  
"Oh my god, Adam!" Shalimar was instantly kneeling next to his stilled form, Jesse close behind. The feral took his face in her hands. "Jesse, he's shivering!"  
  
"We have to move him to the lab," urged the molecular. He looked up at Lexa. "Are you gonna give us a hand or do you plan on standing here for the rest of the day?"  
  
"What's wrong with him?" asked the tall brunette, not moving an inch.  
  
Jesse shook his head and returned his attention to the older man. "This may be happening to him too."  
  
"What?" interjected Lexa. "That is preposterous."  
  
"Is it? Both Brennans had been complaining about headaches since they got here. And I've seen Adam swallowing at least half a dozen pills too in the past several hours." Jesse paused shortly. "Remember how they kept on saying that they were cold?" He looked at Shalimar for support. When he saw her nod, he locked eyes with Lexa. "Look how he's dressed."  
  
She couldn't do anything besides agreeing. "Those are the same symptoms."  
  
Shalimar frowned. "I don't understand. Adam just said that Bren was in this state because he was fighting against his double. Why would Adam be affected as well? He has no one to fight against."  
  
"Then either Adam was entirely off the mark on this theory, or... Maybe he has," Jesse said quietly.  
  
Lexa cut in. "What are you talking about?" She didn't like what she was hearing at all.  
  
"If what he said is correct, and it sure looks that way, there are two Adams here."  
  
"But Adam doesn't have a counterpart on our world, Jesse," argued Shalimar. "Our Adam is dead." She refused to believe what he was trying to say. It had taken them way too much time to accept Adam's death, there had been too many false hopes.  
  
"I'm just trying to make sense of what's happening here. Shal, they never found his body at Naxcon." The hope in Jesse's eyes was killing her. She didn't want to go through that again. They would just end up more shattered.  
  
"His body is here somewhere, though. Right?" Lexa said reluctantly. The feral looked at her, stunned. "Adam may still be alive. It's that or... how's Emma been feeling?"  
  
The room grew silent for a few seconds. Jesse paled. "What?"  
  
"I don't want to be the one to suggest we dig up her grave, but it looks like it's either that gets a 'return to sender' or we ship this new Emma back instead." She watched her two teammates for their reaction. "It's not like we've all the time in the world to debate it. Once Brennan and the other Brennan are both dead, she's stuck here - for better or worse."  
  
Lexa waited, nervous whether they'd take the bait. It made her job easier if DeLauro just went away.  
  
Jesse's brow furrowed deeply as he sorted through the facts. His face suddenly lit up. "We never found his body," he said like it was some kind of epiphany.  
  
"I won't have this discussion, Jesse," Shalimar stated firmly. "I'm not going on some wild goose chase with you. Adam is dead!"  
  
He shook his head. "What if our Adam isn't here at all?" His hopeful expression pleaded for her to listen. "Our Emma, and possibly Brennan, traded places with duplicates. We got the other versions of them, right? And they got yet another world's Adam, correct? So our Adam could be in this Adam's original dimension."  
  
Lexa tried not to scoff. "But then there's no Adam here at all, and we're further back than square one."  
  
"No." Jesse held up his hand, signalling her to hear him out. "We're missing an Adam. So where is he?"  
  
"He came here also," Lexa groaned, concluding his current stream of thought. Jesse nodded. "Now we have five different theories to..."

"Okay, stop, both of you," Shalimar interrupted. This was getting way too confusing for her. "What are your five theories?" she asked Jesse.

"Well, one, Adam was wrong and what's happening to both Brennans is caused by something totaly different."

"Seemed pretty damn convincing, though," mumbled the feral.

Jesse shrugged and went on. "Two, Adam and Brennan's sickness aren't related." Shalimar gave him a I-don't-believe-that look. "Yeah, me neither. Three, Adam, _our_ Adam, is still alive and somewhere on our world." He deliberately avoided Shalimar's eyes at the mention of this possibility. "Then maybe, and that's the fourth theory, Adam is indeed here, but a different one, the one who belonged to the other reality Emma and Brennan just left."

"And what's the fifth?"

"Well, if Emma gets sick too..."  
  
"Okay, enough. This is not happening to her! This won't happen to her!" she stated firmly.

Then Shalimar put an end to the discussion by lifting Adam to take him to  
the lab, Jesse quickly helping her.  
  
Lexa was slowly following behind. This would certainly constitute another  
obstacle to her mission. _Just great._

_----_

TBC


	12. coloradospace

**Chapter 12**

**By coloradospace**

Why had he listened to them? Everything was dark. Dust could be found in every corner of Sanctuary. He was digging his own grave. He knew it. If only he had died that day. If only he hadn't let the others leave him alone. If only... _Self pity will get you no where, Jess. You are a survivor. If there is one thing you learnt from Brennan and your glory days on Mutant X, he thought, it's that. Survive. Don't let the others get to you. Don't look back. Move forward. Mutant X is dead, and nobody will come get you, man. Time to move on._

With that in mind, Jesse decided to call some old friends and just leave Sanctuary. There was nothing left for him. Nobody would come back for him. But what if...? That day, hemade his mind to leave what had been his home for the past years. It was hard, physically and emotionally. How could he drive the helix being in a wheelchair? _Hadn't thought of that one. Well? I'll just have to find a way to equip the helix so I can pilot it. Nothing would stop him. Nothing. He was alone and didn't need anybody._

That day, the sweet Jesse as we know him died.

Brennan could hear so many things. He was tired of being spoken of without anyone talking to him. _Could they at least explain what was going on to him? Damn this mask!_ As we was reaching to put off his oxygen mask, a soft hand stopped him. "Don't Bren, you need it to get better. Just rest, ok" pleaded Emma. But the elemental wasn't listening to her.

"Emma, what's going on? What happened?"

"It appears that the world can't bear 2 of you." Answered Jesse, trying to put some humour in it. "You and your double are kind of fighting one another to stay in this world."

Brennan tried to process the idea then finally asked something he already knew the answer to.

"So what? We fight to death?"

When noone answered, he knew he had just hit the jackpot.

"Great, and I suppose it's impossible to send the other me on his dimension, considering the door between dimensions is most likely closed and that I have no frikking idea how I did this thing to beggin with". He was getting agitated, which was definitely not good.

"Just rest for now, we'll figure something out" soothed Emma.

His dear Emma. What would he do without her. But as this thoughts entered his mind, he was abruptly stopped by a voice he started not to like at all.

"Even if you knew how to go to another dimension, Einstein, you're not strong enough"

"Did anyone ever told you how annoying you are!" For the 1st time, the tall mutant thanked the odds that he couldn't see and wondered how his dupe had been able to deal with this... "Anyway, can't Adam do something? Doesn't he have ideas to recreate the energy field without me, or whatever that was."

Silence. _Great, the next thing I'll hear is that Adam is out._

"Hum, Bren. What happens with you is apparently happening to Adam also" said Jesse, which followed by a hard glare from Shalimar.

_Bingo. _"Great, so now we need to find the other Adam in order to clean this mess"

All the while, Brennan stayed relatively calm. He became somehow in charge, which was not new, but with a new aura to him. Jesse and Shalimar were perplexed and surprised at this new Brennan. The one they knew would have blown a gasket long ago. Emma stayed by him, could she call him boyfriend? Dear friend? They were always there for each other and they knew they had deep feelings for one another but everything that had happened, it was never the time or place to duel on it. As for Lexa, she was starting to think this Brennan might be a bigger problem than what she thought originally.

"Sir, there seem to be a problem" said the younger man tentatively. They might hide in a small facility now, but his boss's wrath was the same as in the bright all days. Terrible.

"What do you mean, there seem to be a problem?" answered the white-hair man with an acid tone.

"The patient convulsed and crashed suddenly." Gulped the agent. "We could revive him, but we have no clue what caused it and his condition is getting worse." Sometimes, he really hated his job.

The other man seemed to ponder what had just been said. _Think, Mason, think. You are stuck in a world that is not yours. Your dear friend Adam is almost dead, living only with the medical help you can provide. This buffoon of a doctor think you are from his world, supposedly some kind of psychopath, and now Adam is convulsing without a reason. Great! As Mr Mulwray would say, f terrific. Where is he by the way? He hadn't reported to me in ages. I hope his cover wasn't blown. This Lexa is sure smart, but I know my boy, he can dupe anyone. If only Adam could wake up. He could help us find a way out._

"Do what you have to do to keep him alive." Said Eckhart harshly; better play the part till the end. "The stasis pods might not work any longer, but I still have some interesting things up my sleeve"

"Very well, Mr Eckhart." Rapidly answered the young doctor.

tbc


	13. AliasJaneDoe

**Chapter 13**

**By AliasJaneDoe**

"I'm really killing him, aren't I?" Brennan asked.

Emma squeezed his hand, then tried to slip the oxygen mask back onto his face. "It's not your fault."

He pushed it weakly aside once more, needing to talk. "You can't let him die." He took several shaky breaths. "If he dies, you'll never forgive me."

Her brow furrowed in confusion, but she tried to shush him. "You need to rest, Bren. Save your strength."

"Why are you letting me lie to you?" He clung to her hand as he said it.

She shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about." 

"You do. I've done something terrible and you know it." He paused to catch his breath again. "I was willing to take his world... but I can't take his life, Emma..." A tear streaked his face. 

"I'll get you something more for the pain," she offered quickly. 

"Don't." He wouldn't let go of her hand. "Don't avoid this conversation. And don't keep helping me fight him. And don't... don't tell yourself that you'd have known if I was lying."

"I would have! And you weren't. You couldn't have been." She gasped for air, suddenly feeling like he wasn't the one who couldn't breathe. She was the one struggling. He wasn't her Brennan. Oh god... 

"Emma, please, I am so sorry."

She jerked her hand away from his, the charms on her bracelet rattling against each other. "Bastard..." It came out barely a whisper, but she knew he still heard it.

"I needed you." His tone was desperate. "I thought you could forgive me that."

"You had no right to..." She wiped at her face. She would not cry. 

"To what, Emma? I can't need you if you aren't mine? I don't have a right to that? He's been living fine for four months without you. It won't rip his heart out if you chose me over him!"

"It's not about choice, Brennan! You can't choose your world, it doesn't work like that!" She stared at him, not sure if she was more upset or shocked.

"I don't know my world," he said quietly. "That's why I could claim both versions of how we met as being truth, because I don't know which is the lie. I don't remember how exactly we joined Mutant X. I'm not even sure you didn't die with Tyler."

Her anger fell away, leaving an empty sadness. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It felt right, didn't it? You and me? At least until him... It felt real..."

Before she could answer, he passed out again. Emma put her face in her hands, still refusing to cry. It _had_ felt right.

A moment later, the monitor behind Brennan signaled an alert. Emma instantly stood up and then bent over him. He wasn't breathing. "Brennan?" She pushed the mask back onto his face. It didn't help.

"No," she pleaded. "No, Brennan, I forgive you. You have to let me choose. I want to able to choose."

Jesse was pushing her back a second later and checking Brennan for a pulse. "Shal, Lex," he shouted over his shoulder, "get the other one to Naxcon and find that doorway. Now!"

"Emma needs to show us where it is," Lexa replied smoothly.

"Go," Shalimar said to Emma. "I'll stay with this Brennan. He'll be fine."

Emma started to protest but was grabbed and dragged away by Lexa.

----- 

Screeching to a stop in the Naxcon lot, Lexa shifted into park. She yanked the keys from the ignition and shoved them in a pocket. She turned to Emma. "Come on, let's get Sparky up so he can do his thing." 

She opened the backdoor and practically dragged the half-conscious elemental out, pulling his arm over her shoulder. Emma quickly had his other arm draped over her own shoulder as well.

As they awkwardly approached the building with Brennan between them, Emma tripped over some debris. Lexa noticed her share of Brennan's weight get heavier.

"I think I twisted my ankle," Emma complained, hissing in pain. "Get Brennan inside. I'm right behind you."

Lexa mumbled something nasty, then proceeded to yank a stumbling Brennan into to remains of the building. Once inside, she let go of his arm and he swiftly collapsed to the floor. Groaning, Lexa stooped down and slapped him across the face. "Hey, try to spark up. I'm gonna go get DeLauro."

He nodded weakly, starting to wind his hands around each other and attempting a charge.

"Yo, Emma," Lexa called, making her way back outside. She really should have insisted they bring Adam too in order to save him also, she thought. She could have been rid of both him and Emma if this worked. She stopped and looked around. Where the hell was Emma? She quickly spun in a full circle. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me..."

_Crap._

----- 

Jesse slammed his fist against the keyboard in frustration. He didn't even know what he was looking for. The only mutant in the database listed with the power to heal was also listed as "location unknown." 

He didn't have contact information for his father either, and Jesse wouldn't use it even if he did. How pathetic would it be for him to call up his parents and ask to move back home? Oh, and maybe he could pretty please have his trust fund back also.

He stared at the information on the screen again, not sure why he'd pulled that file up. Toni was currently a six-hour drive away. Had he really exhausted all other options that he was actually considering going to his ex-girlfriend?

He wondered how that conversation would go. "I know we didn't end on the best terms - actually we didn't end at all, but you didn't exactly call me either, so I'm not the only one at fault for that - oh, but no worries, I'm not here to start a relationship again, because quite frankly you annoy me in a pesky Ashlee Simpson kind of way, but seeing as I'm in a wheelchair now, I figured you'd pity me enough to give me a place to stay. You know, just until I'm back on my feet."

Jesse dropped his head against the keyboard, and the computer beeped some kind of error. A bitter, choked laugh broke free and Jesse swallowed it before it could become sobbing. He truly had no friends and nowhere to go.

----- 

Waking up on the ground, Brennan stared up at Lexa. She stared back. "We seem to have switched worlds," she stated, none too thrilled. 

"How long was I out?" Brennan asked, not overly troubled by that fact.

"No more than a minute or so," she replied, leaning over him. "Feeling better?"

"Much," he answered before throwing a fast punch to her face and knocking her out cold. He didn't know how his double had tolerated her for four months before he'd shown up and traded places with him.

Getting up and dusting himself off, Brennan retrieved the car keys from her and then picked his way out of the ruins of yet another Naxcon building. He might as well do some scouting around before attempting the return trip. And he needed to figure out how to dispose of his damn double when he did go back, if he were still alive.

He tapped his ring to open the com-link but said nothing. He closed and opened the connection twice more, causing small clicks on the channel.

If his Shal were here, she'd respond. Three clicks answered his. 

"Brennan?" a voice asked over the com.

Definitely not Shalimar. Brennan frowned. Kilmartin. And he hadn't been briefed on this one. "Yeah," he replied cautiously, wondering if Shal's ring had shown up also or if Kilmartin had no reason to be monitoring her com.

"Where are you?" The voice sounded agitated.

Brennan shrugged. "Where are you?" he responded casually. 

"Sanctuary. Where else would I be?" the person on the other end of the line shot back at him.

"Stay there. I'll come to you."

He strolled over to where the car was parked, although it wasn't the same car and must have been left behind by a double. He tried his keys and wasn't at all surprised to discover they worked. He grinned. 

----- 

"Where are Emma and Adam?" Jesse asked as Brennan entered, looking up from his task of tinkering with the broken keyboard.

"Emma and Adam. Right." Well, that explained which brave new world he'd found himself on, and infiltration wasn't an option without far too much acting. "They aren't here."

Jesse squinted at him, knowing something wasn't right. "Wait a minute... You can see me?"

"Yes," Brennan replied with a nonchalant shrug. Then he lifted his hand. It was just easier than making up a new backstory.

Before Jesse had a chance to react, the electric shock hit him and sent his world into blackness.

----- 

Brennan swiped his keycard through the scanner at Genomex, identifying himself an agent. The tiny light remained red.

It was only a moment before he was greeted by a security team. The blonde in charge eyed him up and down. "Using an invalid card... naughty boy."

A smile crossed his face. She'd clearly been expecting him. "Miss me?"

"You've no idea how much," Shalimar replied. "This is the second parallel hunk of rock I've been to. I'd rather like to go home." 

"Adam and Mason have worried terribly about you, of course." Brennan tossed his car keys to some random agent. "Kilmartin is locked in the trunk. I have full access to Sanctuary."

"Splendid." Shalimar grinned at him. "This Mason will want to meet you." 

"First things first." His headache was coming back. "Where's my counterpart?"

"He's got a room right next to our precious Emma's."

"So you found her." His smile broadened. "Good."

----- 

Emma flinched away as Brennan stroked her cheek. "Don't pull away from me," he ordered softly. "You know we only chased you because we love you, don't you, Emma?"

She cringed, trembling beneath his touch.

He wrapped his fingers behind her neck, pulling her forward and feeling the governor. "You shouldn't have tried to run away. You need Mason and Adam to help you control your powers. Because you can't control them, can you?" He petted her hair. "You need to be put in the pod so you don't hurt any more people."

She remained silent, and he titled her face up. She quickly looked away. 

"You know that you're sick, don't you?" His voice stayed sweet. "You're lucky we even want to help make you better. Because you're not worth it, are you?"

He kissed her forehead. "You're lucky we can love somebody like you," he repeated gently before leaving.

----- 

Jesse lay on the floor and silently watched the scene through the bars of his cell. Then he watched as the lifeless body was removed from the cell one farther down the row.

-----


	14. Jengrrrl

**Chapter 14**

**By ****Jengrrrl**

He was in sweats and a tank top, sitting casually on the same bed he'd crashed on not a few hours before. He was ... Brennan. There wasn't anything to identify him as anything but Brennan. Even the way he sat, the way he glanced up when he heard the click-clack of her heels on the lab's floor.

"He's gone." It was a statement of fact and Brennan uttered it himself before Emma had a chance to say anything.

"Yes," she murmured. A good five feet separated them but she could almost feel the current of energy that marked him, that feature she'd come to accept as part of him, the same way she could feel Shalimar's warmth, and Jesse's strength. "So's Lexa."

"What?" Real surprise on his features, and maybe even weariness. And weren't they all feeling it? Bone-weary of the whole thing.

"Gone," Emma affirmed, "who knows where." She crossed the remaining distance that separated them, that distance she'd been sure was enough to keep those feelings of familiarity at bay. She should have known that no amount of certainty mattered anymore. That the Brennan sitting beside her was the Brennan she knew seemed clear. She could feel it. That what she could feel and what she had to understand intellectually were at odds with each other disturbed her to no measure. "How are you feeling?" she asked, placing her hand flat on his shoulder, a kind of peace-offering, to reassure she didn't blame him, no matter what had happened, no matter what he thought he'd done.

"Right as rain," he replied, sarcasm tinging the guilt in his voice. "Why shouldn't I? I'm the lone Brennan now, right?" He shrugged away from her touch. "This is my world," he added darkly.

"Does it matter now?"

"You said it yourself, Emma. We belong where we belong. Should I accept this as my world just because he's gone? Should you be mine just because I want you to be my Emma?" He reached out for her, found her face and cupped it in one big hand. She let him, because the emotion that was washing off of him threatened to choke her. "What was he like, your Brennan? Did he love you the way I loved my Emma?" 

"I don't know," she whispered, stock-still.

"You'd know. He'd tell you, or he'd show you, because I'd tell you, I'd show you." He closed his useless eyes and said, "I hope I told her." Then he leaned over and kissed the corner of her mouth and she was so surprised she didn't even pull away.

"Brennan..." she breathed.

"That's me," he replied.

"We can't leave things the way they are."

"No? I didn't think so."

"We have to find Adam, the other Adam..."

"The great and powerful Oz..."

"...and get back to where we belong."

"You belong here. Where do I go?"

--- 

Lexa didn't like surprises. She didn't like being hit by big men, and she certainly didn't like being stranded on a world that wasn't her own.

When she woke up it was to find herself alone. Alone and with a bruise the size of a ping-pong ball forming on her cheek. She traced the edges of the swollen skin and winced. Son of a bitch could certainly swing a mean punch, couldn't he? Didn't matter, she'd get him back for that one.

She stood up, woozy (and damn but her head hurt), reaching into her pockets for her car keys, not surprised at all to discover they were gone. This certainly wasn't her day.

It was a few more seconds before the dizziness dissipated and she made her way out of the Naxcon building. Once outside, she discovered the sky was cloudy, threatening rain. Just like home.

"Now, Lexa" she wondered aloud, "if you were a traitor, where would you go?" Of course, she already knew the answer to that question. She'd find a car and head for Genomex.

-- 

"What are we going to do with her?"

Brennan raised his eyes to Shalimar; he didn't have to ask whom she was talking about. His cold gaze drifted over to the monitor that showed Emma DeLauro's sleeping form. "Get her home. Get ourselves home." 

"How?" 

"Same way we got ourselves here."

"How's that?" she asked, exasperated. But before he could propose an answer, she added, "Mason wants to see you."

Brennan groaned. He was tired of the pretense. "What's this one like?" 

"_Not _like ours. Loathes Adam, for one. Even in death."

Brennan raised his eyebrows but didn't comment.

Shalimar continued, "Sick, too. Leaves the daily operations here to his underlings, which is how I was able to rise to the top of the ranks so quickly."

Smiling, Brennan replied, "Survival of the fittest."

Shalimar grinned her reply.

"What's he want?" he asked, eyes traveling back to the monitor that showed Emma.

"Can't say. Genomex is pretty unstoppable, what with the death of this Adam, and the virtual dismantling of Mutant X. It seems Mason's rudderless without an enemy to face."

"Aren't we all."

Noticing the direction of his gaze, Shalimar murmured, "She hasn't said much since we picked her up. Only that she wanted to see you." She shrugged. "But she didn't seem that happy to see you today. You screwed her over pretty good, didn't you Brennan? What'd you do, back home?"

Brennan's mouth twisted into a smile, but his eyes were dead. "Showed her how much we love her, Shal. Showed her how much I love her."

--- 

"Hey," Jesse whispered, hoping the girl in the next cell could hear him. "Emma!"

She looked up but her face didn't register emotion.

"Emma, it's Jesse."

She remained unmoving.

"What's wrong with you?" he muttered, more to himself than to her.

He was surprised when she finally spoke. "He won't want me talking to you."

"Who?" 

"Brennan." 

"Brennan," Jesse spat out, "is a bastard. We have to find a way out of here." 

"No." 

"No?" Jesse couldn't believe what he was hearing. This Emma clearly wasn't the same one who'd left with Brennan and Adam, was it? Was it possible there was another Emma on his world? That certainly would explain Brennan's sudden ability to see. And, well, the fact that he was evil.

"Emma, do you remember me?" If she was from another world, his double had to be on it too, didn't he?

She nodded. "You're dead. You shouldn't be here."

Jesse felt his flesh crawl. He didn't like hearing the words, even knowing they were only about a double on an alternate dimension. "Um, how did I die, Emma?"

"He killed you. We were together, we were leaving but he caught up with us. He... I'm sorry, I had to leave. I had to get away. I'm so sorry." She was crying.

"Hey, it's okay," he cooed. "I'm right here. Not dead, see?" Jesse was trying not to be morbid, but he had to know: "Who's 'he', Emma?"

"Brennan." 

Jesse blanched. He was afraid she'd say that.


	15. Catlin

"Where do I go?" he'd asked, and Emma hadn't known what to say, what she could say that would comfort and soothe his yearning to belong.

Hours later, and she still didn't know what to say to him, because the truth was, his world wasn't the certainty hers was; from what she understood, there were innumerable dimensions out there, and even if they did manage to stumble into Brennan's, who was to say he'd be able to recognize it? Or, if he did, that he'd admit it?

And for all her talk of returning to their own worlds, Emma wasn't at all sure she could leave him - alone, blind and therefore, to some degree, helpless, but beneath it all, still the same man she'd always known, still her Brennan in every way save one: he hadn't really been hers to begin with.

She could almost hear her heart break - one sharp crack down the middle, and it was...

_Hard and bright and hot, like sticky white fingers pressing in, and the joy and pain and fear and sorrow were so intermingled she couldn't sort them apart, and oh, God, was this love? Was this grief?_

Tears, the bitter ache of them, rode the back of her throat and scraped her raw, and she felt as though she'd fought a battle she'd known she could never win, and...

_Lost, so alone and afraid and without hope; a wanderer, eyes taped shut and hands outstretched, faltering, falling, always falling..._

And her hands were wounds; cuts that stung and bled-

"Emma? My God, Emma, are you all right? Don't move, there's glass all over the floor." Jesse's voice, bright with shock, punched through to her, and she stared down at the broken drinking glass she still held, with a kind of fascinated horror.

"What happened?" Jesse asked, as he lifted her out of the debris and carefully removed the piece she had gripped in her hand.

"I don't know. I was just standing here and then..."

And then she'd been sucked into someone else's emotions, overtaken to the point where she could no longer feel anything but him, anyone but-

"Brennan," she whispered, and Jesse looked up from examining the cuts on her palms.

"What do you mean? Was he in here? Did he-"

"No! No, he didn't do anything. It was-" Me. "-nothing."

The connection had been so strong, so intense, it could only have been formed by Emma herself, almost as though she'd been... seeking him out for verification of his feelings towards her, and it seemed, intentionally or no, she'd gotten her answers.

"These cuts aren't pretty; we'd better take you to the med lab."

He began propelling her down the corridor, and she said, with a laugh, "Slow down! It's not like it's life or death, or anything."

Jesse's hand dropped away from her back as though she'd shoved at it, and then she remembered that on this world, she had died, and he'd mourned her, all of them had, and once they found the other Adam, they'd lose her all over again.

"Jesse," she said thickly, "I didn't mean-"

He cut her off with a sharp, "Emma. Just. Don't."

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

"I've got it!" Jesse's shout reverberated through Sanctuary, and Emma wandered over to the computer he'd been working at since their non-argument.

"What's going on?" she asked, curious but a little distracted by her newly healed and itching hands.

"I've found him," he said, glancing up as Shalimar strolled into the room.

"Good to know," she said. "Found who?"

"Adam. Well, the second Adam," he corrected. "His com-link's been activated. He's-" Jesse blew out a breath. "He's at Genomex."

Shalimar cocked her head, smiled in a way that made Emma's blood chill. "Then I guess we're going to be paying our old friends a visit."

* * *

"How did this happen?" Jesse asked. "How did Brennan become one of the bad guys?"

"Become? He's always been on their side, and even while he was with us, with me, he was working for them."

"Them?" he wondered, not altogether certain whether they were talking about the GSA, or little green men. The way things had been going, who knew?

"Genomex," she clarified. "I should've known when he couldn't produce any of his so-called 'electric charges' that he was... But I didn't want to believe it."

"Wait. What do you mean, 'so-called'? That's Brennan's power, it's what he does."

Emma looked at him strangely, then said, slowly, deliberately, "But Jesse... Brennan doesn't have any powers."

* * *

----- 

NOTE: there's a thread on the lXt forum that goes over who is who and what worlds they're on. Just in case anybody is feeling lost.


	16. imjuzakyd

Chapter 16 By Imjuzakyd 

"Mr. Mulwray, glad to finally meet you."

Brennan shrugged as he stared down at Mason Eckart. He made no effort to hide his amusement upon seeing his boss' double. Although the Eckart he knew looked slightly different, the Eckart sitting in front of him possessed the same voice and manners as that of his boss.

"I'll go straight to the point," Brennan spoke with an air of confidence, "I want to take Emma de Lauro and go back to our world."

Eckart didn't hide the sarcasm on his face. "And how do you propose to do that?"

"We'll go back to the Naxcom building," Brennan answered, looking at Eckart as if the white-haired guy had grown two heads.

"You have a very bright future here at Genomex, Mr. Mulwray," Eckart continued, not minding the sarcastic way Brennan was looking at him. 

"That's funny," Brennan answered, "That's exactly what the Eckart from my world had said to me when he was convincing me to work for him." 

"Really?" 

"Yep. And sorry, but I already accepted his offer."

"Very well then. Take your Ms. De Lauro and go back to your world if you want to," Eckart replied calmly.

Brennan turned around to go out of the office when Eckart spoke once again. 

"If you can."

"Hey." 

Brennan felt Emma's light touch on his cheek as he stirred slowly from bed. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, but waking up and finding Emma beside him made his heart skip a beat. He was sure the Emma with him wasn't his Emma, but he'd give anything just to keep her with him, make her love him as much as he loved her.

"Hey there beautiful," he greeted her huskily. He reached out and felt for her face, and gently caressed her soft cheek.

Brennan heard a small giggle escape from Emma's throat, and couldn't help but smile. He felt the psionic gently smooth out his hair, and felt the  
loving concern that she was giving him. _Maybe it is possible,_ Brennan thought. _Maybe she will love me the way I want her to._

"How are you feeling?" Emma asked the elemental as she continued to smooth out his dark hair.

"Better." 

"We found Adam."

Brennan froze. "You, you did?"

"Jesse was able to get his exact coordinates. We're preparing to get him now."

"Where?" 

Emma bit her lower lip before answering. She wasn't sure if she should tell Brennan where the other Adam was. If this Brennan had the same personality as the Brennan she knew, then Emma was certain that Brennan would never allow her to go to the mission.

"Emma, where's Adam?"

"Genomex." 

"Where? Emma, you can't go there!"

Emma suppressed a groan upon hearing Brennan's words. She wondered if, perhaps, this Brennan was indeed the one from her world. His overprotectiveness was exactly the same as the overprotectiveness of the Brennan she knew.

"Brennan, we don't have any choice. We have to get the other Adam to find out if he belongs to this world or not. You know that."

"But it's dangerous, Em. I can't let you go there."

"I'll be with Jesse and Shalimar, Bren. I'll be fine."

"No," Brennan said firmly, clutching Emma's bad hand and feeling the bandage around it. "What… what happened to this?"

Emma gently pulled out her hand and stood up. "I have to check on Jesse," she said as she walked away from the elemental. "I'll be okay, Bren. You should get more rest. We'll be back in an hour or two."

Brennan was about to stand up and follow Emma when a skull-piercing headache overcame him. He clutched his head tightly and shut his blank eyes. "Em…"

Emma turned around and saw Brennan wincing in pain. "Bren?" She hurriedly returned to his side and held his face. "What's wrong?" 

"My head," Brennan tried to tell her. The pain had already spread to his whole head and was slowly traveling down his neck. "My head, Em…"

Emma watched in terror as Brennan suddenly convulsed in front of her. "Jesse! Shal! Help!" she screamed to her commlink ring. "It's Brennan!"

"What do you mean?" Jesse asked, dread filling his whole body.

"Brennan doesn't have powers, Jesse," Emma answered, hugging her cold body and rocking back and forth. "That is, my Brennan doesn't have." 

"You mean your Brennan's not a mutant?"

Emma nodded slowly.

"But… but if he's not a mutant, then how was he able to join Mutant X?" 

Emma lowered down her eyes to the floor. "He… he was with me when I joined the team. We… we were sort of, living together. Adam, he… he accepted Brennan in the team because I told him that I wouldn't join without him."

"You and Brennan…?"

Emma shut her eyes and continued rocking her body. "I didn't know he was working for Genomex. I didn't. If I did, I would have never brought him to the Sanctuary with me. Then maybe he wouldn't have killed you… and…" Tears started flowing down the psionic's eyes.

"Hey, Emma, it's ok," Jesse tried to comfort her, "I'm here, see? I'm alive."

Emma opened her eyes and stared coldly at the molecular. "You're not my Jesse."

"I'm… I'm sorry."

Emma then crawled towards Jesse's cell. "My Jesse had been dead for months,"

"Emma…" 

"Brennan killed him because we tried to escape. Because we tried to get away from him."

"Because you found out that he was working for Eckart?"

Emma let out an eerie laugh that sent chills up Jesse's spine. "I was able to confirm my suspicions about Genomex only when he brought me to that awful place. That wasn't the reason why we left."

Jesse looked quizzically at the psionic laughing in front of him. "Then why did you leave, Emma?"

Emma eyed the molecular sadly before answering. "We wanted to start a new life, my Jesse and I. Away from Mutant X. Away from Brennan." 

Jesse saw tears brimming the psionic's eyes. "But Brennan chased us before we were able to get very far. He wouldn't let Jesse have me. He said I belonged to him, only him."

Brennan woke up with a tremendous headache. He felt his whole world spinning around, threatening to crash on him the moment he opens his eyes. 

"Em." 

He heard footsteps coming close. A soft hand rested on his forehead. A gentle voice, soothing his numb spirit. "Shh, it's all right, Bren. I'm here."

Brennan reached out and tried to touch Emma's face. Emma gently took the elemental's hand and placed it on her cheek. Her other hand remained on his forehead, carefully massaging his temples.

Brennan kept his eyes closed, knowing that they'd be useless anyway. He forced a weak smile, and hoped that the psionic would accept that as an assurance that he believed in every word that she says.

"What happened?"

Emma removed her hand on the elemental's forehead and rubbed her own temples. "We're not sure. I'm still finishing the scans." She gently removed Brennan's hand from her cheek and headed back to the computer.

Brennan turned his head to the direction of Emma's footsteps. The headache was slowly fading, and after a few seconds, he finally decided to open his eyes.

The elemental blinked a couple of times before realizing that he could see hazy patches of different colors in front of him. He shut his eyes for another five seconds and tried opening them once again. The images were clearer this time – he could make the outline of his hands, the computer in front of him, and Emma's back. For the last time he closed his eyes and slowly opened them.

"Emma." 

Emma turned and saw Brennan looking at her. Somewhere inside she already knew what happened, but found no words to express the joy she was feeling. She hurried towards Brennan's side and held his face. "Bren?"

Brennan's eyes were welling tears as he reached out and touched Emma's cheek. He could see her face clearly now – her sparkling blue eyes, her delicate red lips. He felt a sudden burst of emotion come out of the psionic as she held his face in her hands. He saw the first tear fall from her face.

"Em… I can see."


	17. frickangel

Chapter 17 **By frickangel**

"He went to the library…"

"No he didn't." Emma laughed and objected while she tried fixing back the mystery about the children's all time favourite tale of the ten little pigs. "That would be piggy number six. Piggy number seven always went to the circus."

Jesse drummed his fingers over the cell bars and shook his head, "Nooooo… Piggy four went to the circus. I think piggy seven went to the park." 

Puffing out her cheeks and pouting, Emma said, "Ten piggies to sort out. This is confusing."

"Oh come on, piggies are a whole lot easier to sort out than how many of us in the how many-eth world."

"That much is true…"

He laughed with his next door cell-mate and let out a long breath. "We do need to sort out the pigs…" he mumbled at himself.

After hours of trying to figure things out, Jesse had Emma calm enough to start seeing things his way, eventually putting into place somethings with what possibly could be a way out and during that, Jesse got himself back together… at least emotional wise.

"Yes, figuring out which piggy goes where is important." Her soft smile spread across her face, as she slipped her hand in between the bars which were only spaced so closely making only Emma's fingers to go in between.

Reaching out with his own, Jesse brushed his hand over hers, a small human touch of encouragement enough to bond them. "Flying pigs." He suddenly thought and let out a loud snort.

"The both of you are in a jovial mood."

Jesse looked up at their visitor whose long blonde hair hung loosely over her shoulders. "Hey Shal, how nice of you to drop by. Would you care for a pig?"

Arms crossed and one eyebrow raised, Shalimar glared at the prisoners with confused amusement. "I rather have cows…"

"Oh! Flying cows!" Emma suddenly exclaimed but fell silent soon enough. 

"I didn't know they were serving alcohol in here." The feral hissed and leaned closer, "Or have you lost your minds?"

Trying to get himself in a more upright positing which was hard since half his body wasn't responding and he was laid awkwardly on a floor against the wall. "Nope. At least not yet."

"You see, Shalimar." Emma's voice had a slight iciness to it. "Since you left us here Jesse's been thinking. It's obvious I don't belong here in this world and probably not you as well or that dumb ox Brennan."

"So?" she rolled her eyes as if she had heard it a thousand times. "Eckhart's already told us we'd probably don't belong anywhere and by the looks of things I like it here better." 

"Eckhart told you that but he left one minor detail out." Jesse grinned. It was a win-for-them situation or everyone-loses situation. "If we don't get back to our own worlds that we're really from, things are going to get ugly."

"Is that a threat?"

Jesse shook his head and held onto his grin, "Not a threat Shalley my dear, but it's a fact. Just before your Brennan threw me in here, I was running some scans back in Sanctuary, things didn't add up. Readings were off and sitting in here made me realise why. At that time I hadn't known that the bunch of us from different sides are all in one world and since I know that now, it all makes sense." 

"What the hell are you blabbing about." She muttered through clenched teeth.

"Each of us carries a different readi- a type of frequency so to put it, and it'll only match with our original world. You, Brennan and Emma being here are ruining that frequency a sort of perfect balance. It's like trying to fit a square through a round hole. It won't work; pretty soon this world and yours will fall apart bit by bit"

Emma started giggling again but stopped herself.

"You're all mad." Shalimar deduced and backed away from the cells. 

"Perfectly sane Shal, but we have nothing to lose. Either way we're dead. You could die with us or you set it all back." Jesse rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

She stopped just before exiting the room just in time to spit another word at Jesse. "You're mad liars who are trying desperately to escape."

"I swear to you Shal, this is not a lie. You'll see the effects soon, who knows? Maybe one of you might start to lose an arm or a limb, hail storms happening, total destruction or just plain insanity. And maybe we are mad." He chuckled.

Whether or not she had heard the last few words, Jesse may never find out, but he was sure of what he had said. And if the team of the other worlds know about this which hopefully they will, they'll have to put everything back in order. Or they were all doomed.

"Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle…"

"The cow jumped over the moon…" Jesse joined Emma's recitation. 

She smiled at him and continued, "The little dog laughed to see such sport."

"And the dish ran away with the spoon." He lifted his hand for effect and allowed the silence to settle. Long enough for the both of them to fill it with eerie laughter again.

----- 

_Go through one Genomex and you've seen them all. _

Lexa casually strolled through the empty corridors, some idiots waltz by her without so much as noticing an intruder. Then again, it was hard to spot something you can't see. She grinned at herself, knowing that being invisible does have it perks.

And, the first thing she would do is payback Mulwray for the gift he left her back at Naxcon. She was feeling generous that day, maybe she would payback in double and with interest.

Today, deal with this dumb Sparky then settle world crossover problem then go back to original plan.

_I need my jell-o fix _.

Instinctively Lexa ducked for cover as a familiar blonde airhead walked on by. Usually the feral would be able to sniff her out. But why was she walking so freely through Genomex?

Unless…? 

_Should've known there was more to those two than goo goo eyes. One spark bolt and a blonde kitty. How quaint._

Following someone who can spot you by your facial wash is not a good thing to do, eventually Lexa made sure Shalimar had stepped up further before continuing her own journey. Following the route where the feral had appeared from, Lexa wondered if bolt boy was down the same room. Instead, what she found were two laughing familiar faces.

_And the hits just keep on coming…_

----- 

TBC


	18. AliasJaneDoe

Chapter 18 

**By AliasJaneDoe**

Lexa fried the security camera with a laser blast before becoming visible once more and unlocking the door to Jesse's cell. He and Emma both stared at her.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

Sighing in exasperation, she shot back, "Luke Skywalker, and I'm here to rescue you." She rolled her eyes. "I'm Lexa, I'm not from this world, Sparky brought me here, and just shut up and get up because I'm on your side, I need your help, and we're getting out of here."

Jesse cast a glance over at Emma before returning his gaze to Lexa. "You need our help?" That was rich.

She shrugged. "Yeah. I wanna get home, okay? And you want out of here, right? So accomplishment of mutual goals."

Jesse cocked his head to the side. "Ah."

"Are we teaming up and kicking this Brennan and Shal's asses or what?" She stared pointedly at Jesse.

"I can't walk," he replied. Not defeated or making excuses, merely a statement of fact.

"Oh god," Lexa groaned, "you're that one."

Jesse's eyebrows lifted. "That one what?"

Lexa moved on to Emma's cell and flung open the door. She had hoped to just leave the psionic freak right where she was, but she couldn't carry Jesse on her own. "Tick tock here, people. Move now, chat later."

Emma shrugged and bounced to her feet. "The mouse ran over the clock," she said in a singsong voice.

"What?" 

"Hickory Dickory Dock," Emma replied.

Lexa glared at her. "Are you a mental patient or something?" 

"That one what?" Jesse repeated as the two entered his cell.

"On the topic of mice, you happen to lose three blind ones?" she asked him. "Well, technically one blind, the other two are just--"

"Yes," Jesse interrupted, pushing his palms against the floor and shoving himself as upright as possible. Lexa and Emma each draped an arm over their shoulders and hauled him up, dragging him out of the cell. "How are they?" He was surprised to find that he cared enough to ask. 

"Emma's fine, although irritating. BlindBoy and Adam are probably both dead. Fighting their doubles for DNA or brainwave dominance or something. There's some science geek explanation for it."

"Temporal Entropic Cascade Failure," Jesse mumbled, pushing aside his thoughts of how that Brennan and Adam being dead made him feel. He glanced back at the third cell which was still vacant. "That would explain why Brennan... Oh my god, this means I was right. We've got to get pi-- err, people sorted here and fast. If we all don't get back to our own dimensions, we won't have homes left to get back to." 

Lexa placed her free hand over Jesse's mouth, then bent the light around them, turning the three all invisible. "That's what we're trying to do here, Jess. And from here out, silence is golden."

----- 

"I'm going with you." Brennan's tone was clear that he didn't want any argument about it.

Jesse was quick to shake his head anyway. "Not a good idea," he objected. "We don't know yet if this..." He waved his hand in front of Brennan's face.

"It has to be," he replied, cutting Jesse off before he could continue.

"Even so, you just nearly died, Bren," Emma said softly. She couldn't seem to stop looking into his eyes now that they could actually catch her gaze.

"He stays here," Shalimar stated firmly, glaring at Brennan to silence any protest. "Your vision coming back is great, but what really matters right now is that you're the only key we've got. We can't risk Eckhart capturing you, and also if anything happens with Adam while we're gone, you're taking him to Naxcon. End of discussion."

Jesse nodded. At the moment, Brennan was priceless. However, he still agreed with Shalimar that if this Adam's vital signs changed, they'd have to send their only way of accessing other dimensions into one in order to save Adam's life. He couldn't die, because they couldn't risk him taking the other Adam on this world with him.

Shalimar and Jesse both headed out of the lab, clearly seeing things as being settled. Emma turned to follow, but Brennan grabbed her hand. "Be safe, okay? I..."

"I will." She gave him a slight smile as he released her hand. Then she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before turning and rushing to catch up with the others.

----- 

Lexa, Emma, and Jesse ducked quickly into a dark room as another patrol of guards moved through the hallway. The door snapped locked behind them. Then the lights in the room came on.

"Ms. Pierce, Mr. Kilmartin, please be seated," Eckhart's voice instructed.

The three spun around awkwardly. Eckhart, Brennan, and Shalimar were sitting in a row of four chairs along one side of a table. Two other chairs were placed across from them.

Eckhart turned a laptop around so that the screen faced where they stood. It showed the room with six glowing forms inside it. "Heat sensors."

Brennan and Shalimar both appeared smug, and Lexa wondered who's idea it had been as she returned herself, Jesse, and Emma to being visible. She considered trying to take them all out, but the two other mutants were more than a match for her.

"Stop looking petulant and sit down," Brennan instructed. "And don't try anything. You need me alive. The same can't be said about you."

Lexa reluctantly helped Emma get Jesse into one of the free chairs. He held onto the side of the chair and the table in order to keep himself upright. After making certain he was okay, Lexa took the other chair on that side of the table.

Which left the only other open chair on the opposite side of the table. Shalimar patted it encouragingly. "Emma honey, come sit with us."

Emma walked around the table, grabbed the back of the chair, and dragged it over beside Lexa. She promptly sat and crossed her arms over her chest.

Brennan's expression changed to one of barely restrained anger. He stood abruptly and hauled the chair, with Emma still in it, back around the table and deposited it next to where Shalimar sat. "You're one of us," he warned her before removing his grip from her and the chair.

"Now, let's talk," Eckhart said as Brennan returned to his seat. 

Lexa and Jesse exchange a look, trying to figure out why they were being invited for a chat when the other side clearly held all the cards. 

"You know I'm right," Jesse finally said.

"It's hailing," Shalimar confirmed.

Jesse visibly tensed. "When we sort things out, what happens to her?" He nodded towards Emma.

Brennan scowled at him. "We'll take care of our own. It's not your concern."

Lexa wondered why Jesse hadn't asked about himself first. For all they knew, his friends were dead and he would be left on this world alone save for an Eckhart who most likely had been told the location of Sanctuary by the traitorous Brennan who sat across from them. Lexa quickly checked her feelings about that. She knew her concern for this Jesse came from her care of her own back home, and she could not allow herself to think like that. She couldn't entertain the possibility that she'd been falling for her Jesse.

"It is my concern," Jesse spat back. "You killed my double." 

Brennan frowned and glanced at Emma before leaning on the table toward Jesse. He bent as close as possible to his ear and whispered, "I didn't kill you, Jess. She did."

----- 

"We've got a problem," Jesse said from his seat in the car that was currently parked on the edge of the road. He poked at his laptop's keyboard some more. They'd not been able to take the Helix due to storm warnings. Now they were stuck in the middle of an almost zero visibility hailstorm.

"Do we want to know what you're thinking?" Shalimar asked.

His brow furrowed. "Not really."

Shalimar and Emma both sighed. "Out with it."

At that moment, the torrents of hail stopped and the storm vanished. Jesse quickly typed some more before finally putting the small computer aside. He took a deep breath before starting. "There are strange weather patterns being reported all over the world." 

Emma felt herself start to worry. "Meaning?"

"I think what happened to Brennan and Adam is also happening to the planet."

"What?" Shalimar grabbed for the laptop. "How the hell is that possible? It's not like there are two Earths in this dimension."

"No." Jesse shook his head. "But we're still mixed up. Look, it is very hard to explain, and I know you'll just roll your eyes if I try, but what we thought we knew, turns out it's a lot bigger than that." 

"How much worse is this thing going to get if we can't stop it?" Emma asked.

"Ummm..." Jesse shrugged uncomfortably. "It could mean the end of the world. Not to be overly dramatic or anything."

"How..." Emma stared at him. "How do we fix it?"

But she already knew the answer and tuned out as he replied. They all had to go back to their own realities. She felt both terrified and numb. She was required to give up Brennan.

-----


	19. coloradospace

Chapter 19 

**By coloradospace**

Jesse looked at Emma, stunned. What was going on? She killed him, or rather his double? She said it was Brennan, but his old pal looked sincere. He then saw a small tear escape Emma's eye and rolling on her cheek. She had her eyes downcast.

"Em…" 

"Amazing grace! How sweet the sound"

Her soft voice was the only sound that could come to his ears. Jesse didn't notice the sorrowful look on this Brennan's face, nor Lexa's attitude that clearly stated she had other things to do. All air left his lungs at this revelation.

"That saved a wretch like me."

Even Eckhart stopped his little smirk once he heard the psionic singing. 

"I once was lost, but now am found"

While singing, other tears where falling, still ever so slowly, but this time they were not only on Emma's cheeks. Jesse's were mirroring his breaking heart, thinking of his own sweet Emma who wouldn't hurt a fly, whereas Brennan's were as transparent as can be, having already shed many tears for his fallen friend.

"Was blind, but now I see."

Shalimar just stared at all of them, all so fixed, eyes glued to the small brunette that had so much power over the men in the room.

"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear"

Jesse didn't want to hear it. It couldn't be true. But she kept singing, in her own little world. It was as if she was in another place, in another time.

"And grace my fears relieved."

""Why did you do it, Em?" It was just a whisper, something that could be mistaken by the wind if they were outdoors. But Emma never heard Jesse's plea.

"How precious did that grace appear"

She kept singing, and singing, her eyes never meeting the others.

"The hour I first believed."

"When we first arrived at Mutant X, everything was fine." Emma kept singing, but Jesse heard Brennan nonetheless. There was something in his best friend's double's eyes…

"We'd been there for a couple of months already when she was kidnapped by Ashlocke. He did a powerful mind game on her. At first, things were kind of odd when we got her back. We started to fight over nothing, but I knew she held me responsible for not rescuing her sooner. You see, Jess, your double and I went on an undercover mission a couple days prior; the girls didn't know what it was about or how to find us. It took us 2 days to get back when Adam finally contacted us to say Emma was gone. In fact, you're the one who found her, or rather our Jesse. During a big fight, she said I didn't deserve her, and that she was better with him - Jess I mean. He didn't love her that way, so she just killed him. She said if she couldn't have him, no one could."

Brennan's eyes never left Emma's face all through the story.

Brennan paced back and forth at Sanctuary, waiting anxiously for the others to come back. He didn't like being left behind and had a very bad feeling about their current situation. He could feel Emma's emotions mixed with his own; it really was a bad combination. Fear, sorrow, loneliness. Nothing good. Feeling powerless, he finally settled for a quick trip to Naxcon. If he couldn't help finding Adam, he sure as hell would try to find a way to settle things down by finding out how to send Adam back to his Earth… and maybe having the courage to leave himself.

As he drove there, he couldn't help himself but feel responsible for this whole fiasco. After all, it was his powers that opened the dimensional door. Maybe if he had controlled them better, it wouldn't have happened. Maybe if they hadn't pressured Shal to begin with, it wouldn't have happened. Maybe they should have made sure Eckhart was dead when the stasis pods went ballistic and mutants came back to life… Jeez, if he kept thinking like that, he could also think it was Adam's fault for making them mutants, or their parents' for having children!

Brennan was so engrossed in his sombre thoughts he never noticed he arrived at Naxcon, as if guided on autopilot. He never saw the shadow figure hidden in what was left of the lab, waiting for its time to strike. 

The silence was beginning to get on Lexa's nerves.

"Come on, Jesse, let's move," she said, tugging at the molecular's shirt to get his attention. He slowly turned his teary head towards her then nodded, slowly, almost imperceptibly.

"I don't think so, Miss Pierce." Eckhart's words reverberated through the office. "You won't go anywhere till I say so." His eyes became smaller by the second if possible. Jesse started trembling as one of his worst fears started taking place. He could already see himself on a lab table being picked and probed, cut open with no care in the world from his tormentors.

In one swift motion, Shalimar took hold of a still violently shaking Jesse, helping Lexa in the process.

"We're all in this together, whether we like it or not," she stated, looking at Eckhart without blinking. "We all have to go back to our worlds in order to make things right, even though I would love to kick your sorry ass to Stasis Kingdom for what you are, Lex!" she continued, glaring intensely, eyes turning feral.

That seemed to help Brennan realise the situation they were in for he knocked Emma unconscious and threatened Mason not to say a word with just a look. Everything happened so fast Lexa hadn't had time to process what exactly just happened, save for being threatened and curiously helped… by the same people.

tbc...


	20. Jengrrrl

Chapter 20 

**By Jengrrrl**

Everything on this dimension was just as it had been on his. The Naxcom building was right where it was supposed to be, just as it had been before his accident, before his blindness. Brennan didn't know what he was trying to accomplish by visiting the site, but he knew he had to do something. He couldn't sit idly by, waiting for the rest to rescue Adam.

He walked slowly, surveying the area methodically, almost ridiculous in his careful approach. What was he looking for anyway? A big portal with a sign attached, reading "This way home"?

"Brennan." The disembodied voice came from behind him, and Brennan swivelled fast, years of training working his body automatically, so he had his hands up, fingers ready to release deadly energy.

When the body that belonged to the voice emerged from the shadows, Brennan let out a gasp of air and put his hands down. It was Adam, looking like he was in the sort of state Brennan remembered being in not a few hours before. "Adam," Brennan said, reaching out to the man. Then, "Which one are you?"

"We have to fix everything or everything's finished."

Brennan frowned. "I know. Which one are you?"

"Take me back, Brennan. We'll go back to our world. Where we left Jesse." 

"Adam, that's not your world."

Adam dropped to his knees and fought to catch his breath. Brennan knew there wasn't much time left. He looked to Adam for an answer. "It is my world, Brennan. My health's deteriorating at an accelerated rate because there are three of us here. I met them, Brennan. I met the man who was with you, and Jesse, in our world. He told me you could get us back. I believe you can."

Brennan shook his head. "No, I can't. That's not something I can control. It just...happened." He wanted to add, desperately, _I don't even know if that's my world._

Adamant, the scientist pushed on. "You can! You need to concentrate on the location. You were blind before this. You didn't have a way to guide yourself. Now you can. You have to!"

"But..." 

"We don't have any time for this Brennan. It's not just me dying. It's our entire planet."

Brennan screwed his eyes shut for long seconds. He had his answer. He'd leave this dimension. He'd leave Emma for good. He had to. "All right," he said. "Let's try this."

--- 

Genomex was a tangle of mazes, long corridors flanked by armed guards, state of the art technology watching over everything with the eye of big brother.

Fortunately, Mutant X had seen it all before. Uniformed, and carrying appropriate ID, Shalimar and Emma made their way to the holding cells as Jesse worked on breaching security through the Genomex mainframe. If all went according to plan, they'd be in and out of the building in less time than it took Mason Eckhart to arrange his toupee. 

Surprisingly, all did go to plan, and Emma had the pleasure of unlocking holding cell 25B without sounding an alarm. It was refreshing. What was disconcerting, however, was opening the door to the cell and finding not one, but two Adams. One conscious, the other not. She cursed under her breath and felt the pressure of panic building in her chest. When Shalimar came up beside her, she could see the same look reflected on the feral's face. They both rushed to the Adams simultaneously. Emma put her fingers to the unconscious man's wrist. It was long moments before she was able to pull away and say, "I can't find it, Shal."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I can't...find his pulse," Emma said, the words sticking in her throat. Before she could continue, Shal was pushing her away from the body, putting her head to Adam's chest, listening for any hint of life.

"Shalimar," Emma whispered, feeling another tightening in her chest, feeling the moisture gathering in her eyes, which burned with unshed tears. They didn't have time for tears. Not with one Adam left for them to save. "Shal, please, we don't have time..."

Shal turned an angry glare at Emma, her eyes going feral for a split second before she cried, "We don't have time? This is _Adam_, Emma!"

Emma nodded, trying her best to sound calm. "Shal, I know that. But this is Adam, too, okay? And he's _alive_. We can save him. Please, we have to go now!"

Two seconds later, Shalimar released her hold on the dead Adam, and moved swiftly to pick up the other, barely conscious, man. Emma saw the determination in her face, and was glad of it. They made their way out, Shalimar communicating with Jesse as Emma glanced back briefly at the dead man in the cell, the man with the same face as Adam. The dead man who _was _Adam.

-- 

Lexa stole looks at her companions on their ride over to the Naxcom building. Now they'd found their way out of Genomex safely, they wouldn't need to help her. "Hey, so, what's the plan here?" 

Brennan was behind the wheel of the van. Emma, bound and (mercifully) gagged, sat beside him. Shalimar sat in the second row. Jesse sat with Lexa in the back. It was Shalimar who looked back to answer her question. "We go back to our worlds. Simple as that."

Lexa raised an eyebrow. "Simple?"

It was Brennan who replied. "Yes. I can get us home," he said, staring at Emma, who seemed determined to avoid his gaze.

"What?" 

"I can control it."

"_What?_" Lexa asked, angry. "Then why all this bouncing around, huh? Why the inter-dimensional ping pong? This is serious."

"I had to find her," he replied, a little too unsteady for Lexa's taste. He was talking about the psionic again. What _was _the obsession?

Lexa was still perplexed. So... "And how did she --"

But before she could finish her question, she was interrupted. The car slid to a halt and Shalimar said, "We're here," like it was "End of discussion." And so it was.


	21. imjuzakyd

**Chapter 21**

**By Imjuzakyd**

"What do we do now?"

There. She finally asked the inevitable. Nobody wanted to start the conversation, but Emma could sense the turmoil in her teammates' systems. They were almost at the Sanctuary, and all of them knew that they better start making decisions if they ever wanted to save the whole planet. Sacrifices would have to be made, feelings set aside. Everything must be fixed, set in order. The world depended on them. 

"We need Brennan to open the door," Jesse answered, trying to avoid eye contact with the others. "Then we send the them back to where they belong. End of story."

"You know it's not that simple, Jess," Emma replied, biting her lower lip. She knew how hard it was for Jesse to take the role of the leader. Since she joined the team Emma had always perceived Jesse as the follower-type, the faithful student of Adam who would obey his every command. Emma had to admit that Jesse was brilliant, probably the most brilliant of them all, but still, he wasn't the leader type that they needed right now.

And Shalimar wasn't in the mood to think. The feral was hunched back in her seat, eyes glued to their mentor, her hands clutching his hands. It was as if Adam would disappear the moment she lets him go. Somehow Shalimar felt this was their Adam, the Adam they all thought was dead. And there was no way she was losing him again.

"We're here," Jesse suddenly said, breaking Emma's thoughts. The psionic watched Jesse open the Audi's door and rush into their headquarters. Emma sighed softly as she turned to face Shalimar in the back seat. The feral still had her eyes glued to Adam, oblivious of what was going on around her.

"Hey, Shal, we're here," Emma said kindly. She knew how hard it was for the feral to see Adam, the other Adam, die. Even if that wasn't their dimension's Adam, Emma knew Shalimar would still weep for him, mourn for the loss of the leader she didn't really know. 

Shalimar looked up slowly and met Emma's eyes. She forced a weak smile before retuning her gaze to their sleeping mentor.

"Everything will be all right, ok?" Emma tried to assure the feral. Shalimar nodded slowly and wiped the tears that were starting to flow down her cheeks. "C'mon, let's take him inside."

Shalimar nodded and gently pulled Adam up. Emma went out of the car and proceeded to open the door on Shalimar's side. She was about to help the feral carry Adam out of the car when Jesse came running back to them.

"What happened?" Emma asked when she saw Jesse's frustrated face. Although deep inside, she already knew what was wrong. The color drained down from her cheeks. "W-where's… Brennan?"

"He's gone," Jesse spit out, trying to control the anger that was forming in his chest. "And so is Adam."

-8-8-8-8-8- 

"All right, everybody out," Shalimar told everyone as she stepped out of the van. Lexa gave the feral a set of dagger stares before opening the door at her side. She was starting to hate this Shalimar for reasons she rather not explain. It wouldn't matter anyway. In a manner of minutes, she'd be able to go back to her own dimension, and that would be the last she'd see them, all of them.

"I need a little help here," Jesse spoke from the back seat, trying not to look as helpless as he really was.

"Oh damn," Lexa muttered under her breath, as she returned to the car and started pulling the molecular out. Jesse was probably the only person she could really get along with in this dimension, and he was starting to be a real pain for her as well.

"What now?" Lexa asked, directing her question to Brennan. The elemental shot Lexa a shut-up-or-I'll-fry-you look before helping Emma get out of the vehicle. The psionic was still a little dizzy, so Brennan didn't have a hard time carrying her into the building.

Shalimar gave Lexa a sarcastic stare before following Brennan inside. It took all of Lexa's will power not to shoot the two with her laser beams. Instead, she slowly helped the molecular limp his way into the building.

-8-8-8-8-8-8- 

"Brennan?" 

That voice. He knew he should have removed his commlink the moment he left Sanctuary. That way, he didn't have to deal with the idea of hearing that voice he had grown to love over the past few years. 

"Brennan, please answer me."

Emma. Why did she have to contact him? Why couldn't she just let him leave? It was his fault that this whole mess happened. It would have been so much easier if she would just let him go, and then accept the new Brennan that would come, her Brennan, this world's  
Brennan. 

"Brennan, I know you can hear me. Please."

"Don't worry, Em. Everything's going to be fine. I'll fix this mess." 

"No Bren, listen to me, don't do anything yet. Wait for us to get there. We're on our way. Please wait for us."

"We don't have much time. Adam…"

"Adam's with you?" It was now Jesse's voice that was booming in his commlink.  
Frustration was evident in the way he delivered his question. Brennan couldn't blame him though. He knew how Jesse hated to be left out, betrayed in situations like these.

"We have to leave. This isn't our world."

"Bren, please wait for us before you do anything." Emma again. Was that a plea, a desperate plea coming from a desperate person?

"Bren?" 

No. There wasn't enough time. He had to do this, NOW. Before he changes his mind. He knew that the moment he sees her again, he would lose all courage and would prefer the world to be destroyed rather than to live without her. That he could accept the destruction of the planet, and the death of all of them, as long as he would die beside her. 

"Brennan! Talk to me!"

"I'm sorry Em. I have to do this. I have to do this now."

Silence. Did he hear her sob? Was she crying? He never wanted her to cry. Never wanted to hurt her, put her in so much pain. But he had to do this.

"Em?" 

Silence. 

"I love you."

There. He finally said it. What a petty way to say goodbye. Brennan slowly placed his hand on his commlink to turn it off, when he heard a sad voice whisper to him one last time.

"I love you too."


	22. frickangel

**Chapter 22**

**By frickangel**

It was the oddest feeling he had ever felt. Sort of like someone pulling him around in a washing machine.

The first cycle and then spin dry.

Those three words were enough to have him hold on to the fragile tendrils of life and to sort out the mess.

I love you…

Another turbulent pull at his body and he felt everything go topsy-turvey, This wasn't how it was like, it was never this rough.

Unless…

Something went wrong.

"Ok Sparky, so we're in. Do your stuff." Lexa hissed through clenched teeth as she held onto half of Jesse's weight on her shoulders.

"God, don't you ever shut up?" Shalimar bit back loudly, throwing her hands up in the air. "You just have to have the last word in everything don't you?"

Trying to release her ultimate death glares on the feral, Lexa stopped walking, "So what if I do?"

"My other self must have a hell lotta self control to not kick you to kingdom come."

"Yeah," Lexa smirked, "And by the looks of it she also has better fashion sense than you do."

Jesse gulped with dread- this was getting ugly. "Uh… girls…?"

Shalimar let herself slipped into her feral mode, deep golden eyes glowed. "Why you little bi-."

"Quit it you two!" Brennan bellowed loudly, his agitated voice echoing through what remains of the Naxcom building. "Two bickering women isn't what we need right now."

For two seconds there were united in one common goal, "Brennan, shut up." Lexa and Shalimar spitted back at him in unison.

He sighed and shook his head, "Women can be so damn touchy." He walked away from them, trying to find the centre of the building.

"I'm a woman." Emma muttered back, her gag had been removed when Brennan saw that she wouldn't be spouting anymore songs or rhymes.

He had almost forgotten he was holding on Emma's arm and dragging her with him. "Yes, you are." He stopped where they were and took time to push back her stray strands of hair plastered on her sweaty face.

In the smallest fragment of time as he looked into her eyes and her stoic expression, he almost felt like it was the Emma he loved, the one he had held so close to himself during cold nights. The one he ran to for emotional support and love.

But now, it was his turn to return the favour, he would be the one giving all the support she needs; he was determined to get back the person he fell in love with.

"Come on, let's go." He resumed their brisk walk through the place.

"Are we going home?" she asked.

"I hope so." He whispered.

"I seriously doubt the team would've taken a cheap wannabe like you!"

Slowly, Brennan sighed, hearing the voices of the two females as they crept closer towards his position.

"Wait a minute," Lexa retorted. "I was THE TEAM BEFORE you were, missy!"

"Or so you say. Who knows, you could've made that ALL up. If you were MX 1.0, wouldn't that make you a 40 year old hag?" Shalimar sneered, proud of her realization regarding the rather odd timeline.

"That's it! One laser treatment for the feral coming up!" With a menacing look in her eyes, Lexa swung her free hand up ready to release her wrath and powers.

Shalimar fell into a small crouch and ready, "You are so going to regret it…"

"CAN WE PLEASE ACT LIKE MATURE ADULTS?" Jesse roared, probably unable to take it anymore, Brennan couldn't blame him; he had been with them during the entire quarrel. "Being inter-dimensionally screwed up is NOT an excuse to sound like 5-year old toddlers!"

Why was it that Jesse succeeded where Brennan had failed to do? They won't listen to him but they listen to Jesse?

It's really the end of the world.

"They're noisy…" rolling her eyes at the rowdy bunch, Emma tugged on Brennan's arm and attempted to pull him deeper into the structure, away from the three. But instead he remained rooted to where he was, in case things really did result in fatal blows, and although Jesse may have been able to soothe the beasts, Brennan doubted that he could duck any punches or laser beams.

"Fine… can we just get this over with before I bite someone's head off and I'm not gonna care whose head it is." Shalimar never took her eye off Lexa nor her threatening aim at the feral.

Lexa snorted, "Oh, the feral is carnivorous after all."

"And I'll make sure I'll find a gun to shoot the both of you and be done with it if you guys don't stop now!" Jesse didn't at all look menacing enough to carry out his threat, but miraculously it worked.

Shaking his head slightly, Brennan turned to Emma, "Very noisy."

"Just get on with it, Sparky!" Lexa snapped.

And for once, he agreed with her. He'd like to get away from their messed up version of reality. "Hang on to my jacket, ok?" he gently asked Emma.

It was obvious from her expression that she didn't understand why she needed to do that, but she nodded anyhow. Shrugging his shoulders and breathing in, Brennan let the flow, a flow he had known so long, course through his body. Clasping his palms together, he let it blow.

And blow it did, for the world came crashing down.

"Brennan?" her voice sounded distant. It was there, but still too far away to answer.

Opening his eyes, he viewed the blue sky, peppered with streaks of grey and puffs of clouds. No birds, no rainbows and no wind. Everything was so still and quiet.

And it came again, the pleading sound of a girl, "Brennan?"

Picking himself off his back, Brennan gingerly rubbed the back of his head where he felt one of the biggest lumps begin to form… and to hurt. "Emma?" he looked around, he could hear her calling out, but his eyes were still blurry from… from… what was it anyhow? He didn't remember the ride between the dimensions being so damn rough.

He rubbed his eyes, and found her not too far away, bending over something. "Emma?" he called for her again.

She twirled behind and looked at him in full shock, and looked back at the figure on the floor. Pushing herself up to a standing position, she took two uncertain steps. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, of course it's me, I thought I told you to hang on to me?" he shook his head once more to wipe away the mental cob webs.

"I did, and then… I don't know, I thought I saw you… fly… and…" her eyebrows knotted up in utter confusion. "But, if you're there then who's this?" her finger pointed at the person she was bent over. The person she was calling…

Brennan.

"Oh shit." He looked at his mirrored self, and then behind him. Lexa, Jesse and Shalimar had begun to stir. Slowly Lexa helped the blond man stand again, but left Shalimar to peel herself off the dirty floor. "What the hell is going on? Emma, come here, now!"

With one more glance at the other, she ran into his arms and buried her face in his jacket.

"Why are you still here?" Lexa quizzed, looking around, her face was dirtied with dust and ash.

"This isn't right, is it?" Shalimar surveyed the area and deduced, "It didn't work."

He didn't know what to say, it had worked. Sort of. They were all here, including his other unknown self.

"EMMA!"

The woman in his arms looked up and over at the building's entrance. It sounded like it was Jesse who had shouted her name, but why would he? He was right behind him and the sound came from the…

Unless.

From the darkness, another figure emerged, a figure he knew all too well… Emma.

Now there were two Emmas. Which means...

He swallowed hard and waited for Jesse to appear and he did, right after the other Emma. They seemed completely oblivious to the existence of the two groups.

"Oh. My. God," the Jesse behind him muttered.

Shalimar stepped up to Brennan's side, "What the hell is going on?"

Jesse hadn't thought Emma would run in like that. It was stupid and foolish, and here he was going after her into the building. Idiot.

Soon as Emma realised she was loosing Brennan, again. She hopped into the Double Helix, and of course Jesse had to follow her, making sure she didn't commit suicide. Instead, she flew herself to the Naxcom building. The exact thing she shouldn't have been doing.

"EMMA!" he screamed at her, twisting and turning through the dark corridors, he finally caught up.

She knelt by the fallen Brennan. Wait, he isn't supposed to be here, he was suppose to back in his own world. Rushing up to the couple, he was relieved to find Brennan awake and holding a crying Emma.

Jesse sighed in frustration, "Looks like it didn't wo-."

It was strange to see yourself staring in horror back at you. And this was no exception. "Oh no…" he breathed.

"It seems our worlds have collided." Adam appeared out of the blue, his hair dishevelled and looking just as beat up as Brennan is. In all the chaos, he had forgotten about the older man.

"What do you mean?" he was almost afraid to ask.

"It means, Jesse- that this is going to be more complicated than we anticipated it to be."

He shifted his gaze from the scientist and back to their doubles. Each staring at a mirror of their own realities.

Crap.


	23. imjuzakyd

**Chapter 23**

**By imjuzakyd**

"You look like me."

Emma shot the others a confused look as she stared at her double. In which world did she come from? Why is she acting so… strange?

"She looks like me," the other Emma continued, glancing up at her Brennan and clutching his arm. "She looks like me."

"Yes, baby, she looks like you," Brennan tried to soothe the psionic, calm her fears lest she breaks down all over again. "But don't worry, she can't harm you." With that, Brennan wrapped a protective arm around his teammate, his best friend, the love of his life.

"And he looks like you," Emma continued, pointing at the other Brennan, who was staring at her.

"Yes, he looks like me," Brennan answered, gently caressing his Emma's hair. "But that's not me either. See? He doesn't have the silver bracelet you gave me for my birthday.

Emma looked down at Brennan's right arm, and smiled when she saw that the elemental had kept her present. "You're wearing it!" she chirped happily, wrapping her arms around him, as if forgetting the weight of the situation they were in.

Brennan forced a weak smile as the psionic rested her head on his chest, as if her whole life depended on him. He lovingly stroked her cheek, hoping that after all this was over, his beloved Emma would return to

normal.

"I hate to break your moment, Sparky," Lexa suddenly boomed from behind, "but we're in a situation here. And thanks to you, things are getting more and more out of hand."

"Oh shut up," Shalimar piped in, suddenly hitting Lexa in the face, causing the other mutant to fall face down the floor. The rest of them stared as the feral flipped her hair with her right hand. "Man, that feels so good!" she exclaimed, directing her statement to the Brennan from her world.

"Thanks," Brennan replied wearily, as he continued to caress Emma's hair. He was all too aware that the psionic finally fell asleep, from exhaustion or confusion, he wasn't really sure. But it gave him a sort of relief, knowing that whatever happens next, at least she didn't have to suffer as much as they would.

"What went wrong?" the other Brennan suddenly spoke, directing his question to Adam. Emma clutched his left hand, silently supporting him for whatever consequence his actions had, and preventing him from venting out his frustrations to the older man.

"You said that once I open the portal, everything would return to normal, that we would go back to our own worlds!" Brennan hissed, barely able to contain himself. If it hadn't been for Emma, he would have fried Adam in front of everybody. Luckily Emma was holding him in a way that prevented him from causing any harm to the people around him.

"Perhaps the impact of both your powers was too much for the portal to handle, and given the current unstable situation in all the different worlds, the barrier that separates our universes must have broken down," Adam tried to explain, seeking physical support from a fallen beam beside him.

"In layman's terms?" Brennan asked, his frustration mounting every second.

"It means our worlds have collided because both Brennans tried to open the portal at the same time," the injured Jesse answered for the older man.

"So you mean there's no more hope of fixing this mess?" the other Brennan asked in a calmer manner than his counterpart.

Before Adam could answer, a violent earthquake shook the building, causing the debris from the upper floors to fall down at them.

"Damn it!" both Brennans yelled at the same time, instinctively protecting their own Emmas from any injury.

Shalimar grabbed the injured Jesse tightly as she waited for a huge block of concrete to fall down on both of them. Jesse quickly pushed the feral beneath him and massed out, protecting his best friend's counterpart and saving her the way he wasn't able to save his own.

The other Jesse jumped towards Adam and massed out just in time to cover the older man from a shower of falling pipes that fell down from the third floor.

The Brennan with the insane Emma watched as a huge boulder of concrete starts to fall towards the unconscious Lexa. Although he would not have minded having the annoying molecular squished, he knew she was still needed to set things back in order. So he formed a tesla coil and shot the boulder before it reached the other mutant, causing the concrete to explode and shower the woman with white powdery dust. A small smile escaped his lips as he imagined how the molecular would react if she wakes up and finds her hair covered with dust.

"Bren, why is everything shaking?"

Shit. Brennan looked down and saw a pair of confused blue eyes stare at him. Emma, no doubt, was awoken because of the earthquake. "Don't worry baby, everything will be all right," he tried to assure her, zapping falling debris here and there.

"I'm scared," Emma whispered, tightening her grip on Brennan's shirt.

"Don't be, I'm here," Brennan answered.

The earthquake abruptly stopped, ending the shower of stones and boulders on them at the same time.

The other Emma looked up at Brennan, her Brennan. But he's not your Brennan, Emma. Remember? He's not from your world. "You ok?"

Brennan smiled as he caressed Emma's cheek. "I should be asking you that." He suddenly creased his forehead. "Why did you come here?"

Emma bit her lower lip. She wasn't really sure why she rushed inside the building. She had heard Jesse's yell, but refused to take heed. Instead, she risked her life just to see Brennan one last time. And look what she did. She had put Jesse's life in jeopardy because of her stupidity.

"I… I needed to see you one last time," she confessed, refusing to meet Brennan's eyes.

"You could have died."

"You could have too."

Brennan sighed as he looked up and glanced around. He saw Jesse, the injured Jesse, unmass and check if Shalimar was all right. "Thank you," he heard the feral say. He saw the molecular smile, and deep inside Brennan knew Jesse finally forgave himself for not saving his Shalimar's life.

Brennan then saw the other Jesse help Adam stand up. The molecular glanced toward their direction, and shot the elemental a reassuring smile. Brennan then saw the smile fade from Jesse's face as the other mutant quickly brought his commlink to his lips.

"Shal?"

No response.

"Shal?"

Brennan looked down at Emma and saw fear all over the psionic's face. They had left the feral at the Helix. She wasn't sure if Shalimar was able to follow them, or if she was still in the Helix when the barrier broke down.

"Shal!"

Emma kept on hearing Jesse's voice, pleading for the feral to answer. Somewhat Emma began blaming herself for whatever happened to her friend. She had no right to leave her because of Brennan. And he wasn't even from her world. The psionic slowly lifted her commlink to her lips and whispered, "Shal? Can you hear me?"

Still no response.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"Shal, can you hear me?"

Emma's voice flooded the surroundings, but no one answered her. Nor were Jesse's frantic pleas heard by anyone. Just a few feet away from the Helix, a motionless figure lied down amidst the ruins of the Naxcom building. Her face was unrecognizable, her body covered with bits of odd-shaped stones and concrete, and her right hand hung limply at her side, blood trickling down from her ring to the ground.


	24. AliasJaneDoe

**Chapter 24**

**Co-written by AliasJaneDoe and coloradospace**

This was all such a mess. Brennan rubbed his hands roughly across his face then took a deep breath, trying to clear his head.

"She going to be okay?" Shalimar asked him, motioning to the other her.

He waved his hand in a gesture of not knowing but answered anyway. "She has a broken wrist, concussion..." He watched as Jesse and Emma fretted over her, Lexa standing nearby with her arms crossed over her chest, merely observing as one of the Adams - Brennan wasn't sure which anymore - did the whole "how many fingers" routine. Shal was squinting and seemed to still be working on how many Adams. Although given the situation... He shrugged, feeling out of place. 

"So she's not dying?" The blonde woman frowned. "There was a lot of blood."

"Scalp wounds bleed a lot. She'll have a scar, but she'll live." Or at least he thought so. He studied the expression of the Shalimar standing beside him. "You're disappointed?"

"Well, no her, no getting ripped apart because of her, right?" The question was apparently rhetorical and she simply strolled back over to her group. Emma still clung to that Brennan while he talked over his com-link with Genomex. Mason Eckhart, despite various protests against the idea, was being invited to their little party.

Brennan wasn't all too happy about them calling a truce, but he supposed it was necessary. It was the entire world at stake after all. Or more accurately, four worlds. He was getting the worst headache, and he didn't even want to think about the cause.

He resumed feeling out of place. Jesse, who'd been deposited leaning against the fence, had given him the cold shoulder earlier. He supposed he deserved it for the way he'd abandoned him. Brennan sat down beside him anyway.

"Shal's gonna be okay," he remarked.

"Good for you," Jesse replied, only glancing at him briefly before looking the other direction.

But the look was long enough for Brennan to tell he was relieved, even though it wasn't his Shalimar.

"What do you want?" he said when Brennan didn't leave.

"Just trying to mend some fences," he commented, flicking at the chain link behind him. "Look, Jess..."

"Is there where you tell me you're sorry and the people I love could still be alive?" He finally returned his gaze to Brennan. 

"Yeah," he replied, feeling awkward.

Jesse shook his head in dismissal. "Save it. It's not true anyway." He paused. "This is the part where you walk away, because I don't have that option. Go back to your... them."

The harsh bite to his tone made it clear he didn't want to talk, at least not to Brennan, and he gave up. "Fine." He stood and took a few steps back toward the others. "But I am sorry," he added before walking away.

"Do you have to be such a jerk to him?" Lexa intercepted his retreat and glared at him.

"He's the one who's so damned determined to be by himself," Brennan snapped at her. If there was one constant thing in all of this chaos, it definitely would be Brennan and Lexa's animosity towards one another.

"He knows an Emma died in the explosion on this world," she commented as if that somehow explained everything. "We've all been trying to figure things out, and it came up, and he knows." 

"So?" 

She stared at him, clearly wondering how he could be so dense. "Take a look around, Sparky." She grabbed his chin and pointed his head in the direction of her world's Emma, and he let his gaze linger there until her fingers pulled his face too far the other way. She left him looking at the second Emma. "The math isn't that hard." 

Then he realized what she meant. They knew a third Emma had died several months before the explosion ever happened. If they were only dealing with four dimensions... "Crap."

He allowed himself a moment to wonder if that might have been his Emma as well, if he really belonged in the world where he'd waken up, if that Jesse was all he would have left when this was over. Brennan couldn't figure out how he felt. If his Emma was dead then... he had no idea. He didn't even know what he was planning to do if she were alive. Declare his unconditional love for her? He scoffed at himself. It was just one Emma that he wanted.

The other Brennan cut his thoughts short. "Mason's on his way," he announced.

"I still don't like this," Shalimar complained. Adam, Jesse, and Emma all pushed her back down as she tried to get up.

"None of us like it, Shal," Jesse replied. "But we're kinda on the clock for getting this mess sorted out."

"We should get her back to Sanctuary," Emma said softly.

She started to shake her head but caught herself and just groaned. "I'm not leaving. I'm part of this."

"So," the other Brennan said, "options?"

They all took turns staring at each other for about a minute.

"What if we leave the planet?" Emma blurted. "With a spaceship!" She stuck out her arms and started making airplane noises.

Her Brennan dropped his face into his hand and mumbled an, "Oh dear Lord..."

Shalimar wrinkled her brow in thought. "That couldn't actually work, could it? If it's Earth being destroyed, could we just get off it?" 

"No, the entire idea is completely absurd," Jesse snapped. "While we might be referring to our different realities as parallel worlds, it's really a matter of entire dimensions. No matter where we go in the galaxy, we're still in the same universe, alternate or otherwise, and it's all being torn apart. I mean, we're talking massive scale rip in the fabric of space-time here."

"What did you just say?" Brennan asked, suddenly forming an idea. 

"In short," Jesse clapped his hands together, "boom. Need me to act that out with sock puppets for you?"

Brennan was tempted to be just as childish and stick his tongue out at Jess but simply rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I meant about time, smart-ass."

"What do you mean?" the other Jesse asked. "You think we should find Diana?"

"It's an option, right? We've got multiple worlds - dimensions," he corrected, "so that means multiple hers. We have to be able to locate at least one of them."

"No, time travel is not an option," Adam said. "One main theory is that the person doing the time travel is only altering their own existence, effectively creating a parallel path... here let me show you..." He drew a line in the dirt, then made a branch off of it as if about to diagram a sentence. "This top line is the original timeline..."

"Would you stop that!" Jesse snapped at Jesse.

Brennan looked behind him to see the other Jesse making his hands quack like ducks at each other while Adam talked.

"We're wasting time we don't have." He motioned to Adam's drawing. "Time travel would just be making more timelines, meaning more dimensions, meaning a bigger mess than we're already in. So next. Who's got plan C?"

Lexa watched him with concern. "Are you okay, Jess?"

He calmed his tone. "Headache."

"I'm already feeling it too," his double confirmed.

"The obvious solution here is to get all of us back where we belong," Jesse stated. "I'd suggest attempting to recreate the original accident, but seeing as you decided to kill yourself, we can't do that." His last remark was directed to Brennan.

"Hey, it was the tremors that killed him," he said, but his voice was indifferent.

Emma stuck her arms out again and Brennan pinned her wrists firmly to her sides in a tight grip.

Brennan frowned at his double. "What if we try with just us and hope wherever the rest of us are, they've got their half of this already fixed? Meaning those of us not of this Earth all go back inside after Eckhart gets here and we start playing roulette."

"We're playing Russian Roulette?" asked Emma timidly, pressing herself closer against her Brennan. She was notably afraid. He placed a quick kiss to the top of her head to soothe her.

Jesse paced a few steps. "And if it doesn't work? The rest of us just sit back and do nothing."

Brennan let go of Emma's wrist before nodding. "Right. And if we don't all end up in the right places, then we'll take care of it." 

"Take care of it how?" Emma asked, speaking to one Brennan but with her eyes on the other. She was worried about him.

"You're really gonna make me say it? Fine, I'll be devil's advocate." He pulled his gun out of his waistband. "We already know we don't get sick on world's where our counterparts are dead."

"Devil's advocate indeed," Adam murmured.

Emma started crying. "I don't want to play that game, Brennan," she whimpered. "Don't make me play."

Brennan whispered something to her that the others couldn't hear, and she quieted. Then he looked across at the other Emma with a blank expression, but his cold gaze made her shiver.

"So if you don't all make it home, you start whacking yourselves!" Jesse gasped. His eyes darted from Brennan to Emma to Emma. "Or us."

Brennan took a subconscious step closer to the Emma who was standing by herself. He carefully met his double's eyes. However far he was willing to go to protect the Emma in his arms, Brennan would match it to protect this one, his or not.

"Whacking?" Shalimar repeated, grinning at her Bren and Emma. "What are we, the Mafia now?"

"Nobody is whacking anybody," the other Jesse said. "If there are only four dimensions, this should be a simple matter. As soon as Eckhart gets here, we'll go reality hop a few times until we get it right. And that's the end of it."

Everybody settled into a tense silence once more.

"When you get home, look me up," Lexa said to Jesse, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "In another world, who knows..." She left him leaning on Adam for support, despite Adam looking like he could use some help himself, and headed back to her own group, to her own Jesse that things would never work out with.

That left all the goodbyes finished, except for one.

"You probably shouldn't come inside," Brennan said to Emma.

She nodded. "I know."

He swallowed awkwardly. "Well, so long." He turned to follow the others into the Naxcon building.

"Brennan, please don't do this," Emma whispered. Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance. She started to reach for him but dropped her hand back to her side.

Brennan paused without turning around. If he looked back, it would only make things more difficult. If he said one more word, if she did, he'd never leave. He closed his eyes briefly, forcing himself not to reply, then he resumed walking.

His double met him as he entered the building. "You still don't remember where you're from?"

He shook his head. "No."

"It's not just one world you're putting at risk, so you'd best settle that." He handed Brennan his gun. "One way or another." 


	25. coloradospace

**Epilogue**

**Co-written by AliasJaneDoe and coloradospace**

"Brennan, I need you to wake up now..."

He moaned, letting Jesse's desperate voice fade back into the blur.

"You're pretty much our only hope here, Brennan, so rise and shine, okay?"

Something splattered on his forehead, and he reached up to swat it away. Another drop followed the first. He squinted up at the water bottle being held over his head. "Do that again and I'll set you on fire," he threatened.

"Wow, really not a morning person, are you?" Shalimar asked. She twisted the cap back onto the bottle. "You're lucky we need you dry."

"You're lucky I..." He sat up in the Helix chair and looked around. "Have no clue where I am." He squinted at Shalimar, cocking his head to the side. "You're the evil one, right?"

"Not quite," Jesse answered from the chair across from his. "She actually saved your life."

The last thing Brennan remembered was Emma clicking her heals together and chanting a chorus of "there's no place like home." She, the other Brennan, Shalimar, and Eckhart had all been hanging onto each other to avoid getting separated during the big group zap. "What happened?"

Shalimar poked his arm. "You died."

That got Brennan's full attention. "What? How?"

Jesse motioned to the window. It was a steady downpour outside. "Part of the roof of this world's Naxcon building collapsed in the initial explosion."

Brennan stared down at his still damp clothing. "I got electrocuted from the rain and you woke me up by dripping water on me!" He glared at Shalimar and then Jesse. "You said she wasn't evil."

Jesse shrugged.

"So where are we?"

Shalimar grinned. "Welcome to my world."

Brennan half expected a "and while you're guests in my dimension, you'll obey my rules" to follow.

"Thank you for bringing Adam home," she said instead.

"Umm, you're welcome," Brennan mumbled, glancing over his shoulder back at the other two seats. Both held an unconscious Adam. Shalimar's gaze rested on the one whose face was scarred, further clarifying things for Brennan. This was the world where Emma had died with Tyler. "And the other one is..."

Jesse raised his hand. "Mine." He then leaned his head back against his own seat, and with the way the light hit his face, Brennan could tell he'd been crying.

Having a Shalimar on this world meant his was dead. And his Adam would die soon also if Brennan couldn't get them home. He glanced outside at the rain once more. "What's our plan?"

"Umbrellas?" Shalimar suggested hopefully.

"Wouldn't work," Jesse said. "He couldn't hold an umbrella while giving off the charge. And Adam and I can't exactly hold them for him." With Adam unconscious, neither of them was able to stand. "He'd also be standing in water."

Brennan sighed. "So we wait it out."

The Helix remained parked on the Naxcon lot for the next 24 hours, grounded due to the weather. The rain had never let up for more than five-minute intervals. Neither Adam had wakened, and Jesse had begun to show symptoms as well.

This world's Jesse was back at Sanctuary, also stuck there due to washed out roads. They'd talked briefly before the storm had turned the com-channels to static.

The situation left Brennan with way too much time and nothing to do to occupy himself. Except think. He glanced back at Shalimar who was sitting on the floor beside her Adam's chair. She'd answered his questions whenever he asked something, but nothing she said helped him, so he eventually left her alone with Adam in silence.

He had no way to know who he was without his memory to confirm or reject details. He told himself he'd know if his Emma had died when Tyler did. That was something he couldn't have forgotten, wasn't it? But on the other hand, people did tend to repress the painful things. He couldn't positively rule this out as being home.

He wanted to claim a different world as his, however. One where the only thing missing was him. All the people he cared about were alive there, and that Emma even loved him. He sighed, dwelling for a moment on wishful thinking before Jesse's quiet moan drew his attention.

"How are you holding up?" Brennan asked him. He hadn't stopped shivering for over an hour.

He pulled his blanket tighter around himself. "Wonderful. Everybody I love is either dead or dying."

Brennan knew Jesse still thought they were both likely from the same world, so he wondered if he'd been left from the list as merely a slight or if Jesse had purposefully dropped him from being included as one of the people he loved. "I shouldn't have just left you like I did. It wasn't about you, Jess, but I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear it, but I am."

"No, it's fine, I get it."

Brennan stared at him. "Do you?"

"You didn't know where you belong, so you picked Emma over me," he summarized. "It's cool, I'd have done the same thing if I were you."

He wouldn't have, Brennan knew. It was Jesse who'd been by his side when he woke up after the explosion. Four months in a coma, and Jesse hadn't turned his back on him. But Brennan had run away at first promise of someplace better. "It's not cool or fine. You'd have stayed, without being asked, if only because you thought I needed you. I didn't, I left. I was blind and terrified, and... whatever my justifications for leaving, I still hurt you."

Jesse finally met his eyes. "What do you want from me, Brennan?"

"Forgiveness maybe."

"For what you did, or for the fact that if this rain ever stops, you're going to do the exact same thing again?"

Brennan shook his head. Was he asking for a second chance to hurt Jesse all over again? "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"We have to risk it," Brennan commented to Shalimar as she handed Jesse several pain pills and a bottle of water. The downpour had turned into a drizzle.

"It's still too wet," she countered.

"It could get worse instead of better." He glanced out the window again. "If we wait any longer, Adam's going to die, and Jesse is going to start having seizures and then he'll go into a coma also, and then he will die too."

She watched Jesse for a moment before speaking. "And if you shock yourself again?"

Brennan didn't want to think about that. "CPR," he said simply. It had worked the last time.

She didn't like it, but she nodded. "Okay."

They made a stumbling sprint for the Naxcon building during a gap in the rain. Brennan had Adam slung over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, and Shalimar had merely ducked under Jesse's arm and was basically dragging him. The each had a blanket flung over them for protection from the light drizzle.

By the time they got inside, Jesse had passed out. Shalimar slipped his arm out of his jacket sleeve and then did the same with Adam, tying the loose sleeves together in a knot in the hope that it would keep them together when they switched dimensions.

Brennan used various pieces of debris to hold up his blanket as a makeshift canopy. He used the other as a towel to mop up the water from the floor. He looked to Shalimar. "Now or never."

"What do I do?" she asked.

"Get out of here," Brennan replied. "And pray."

She gave a quick nod and then ran, clearing the perimeter.

Brennan took a deep breath and then wound up a surge between his hands. The ground suddenly pivoted, his canopy disappeared, and pieces of the ceiling began to fall and crash around him, filling the dry air with dust.

He searched frantically about for Jesse and Adam, but they had both vanished. Then he ran, tripped, and crawled his way free as the walls crumbled and the remains of the building came down behind him.

Once out of danger, he stared at the dirt and rubble, coughing a few times from inhaling the dust. Then he stood still, in shock. Wherever he was, this was the last stop.

He sat down on the ground, catching his breath. He couldn't help but wonder about Jesse and Adam. "I hope you made it home," he whispered. He owed Jesse that much. He lost track of how long he remained there before eventually getting up and turning away from Naxcon for the final time.

Somebody was standing by the perimeter fence, a car parked in the lot.

"Is it you?" Emma asked as he approached.

He nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I suppose I wanted too see the place again before they turn it into an outlet mall." She stared at her feet while she talked, hesitant to meet his eyes. They both knew what she'd really been looking for. "Are you leaving again?"

He shook his head. "I can't."

"Were you going to?" She chanced glancing up at his face, needing to know if his staying was only due to Naxcon's collapse and had nothing to do with her.

He hadn't allowed himself to think about that yet. "I don't know if I belong here." She looked disappointed at his words. He cupped her face in his palm before she could stare at the ground again. "That hasn't changed how I feel about you."

She placed her hand over his and removed it from her cheek. She headed for the car. "Come on. We can talk more at Sanctuary."

He noticed that she didn't call it home. He guessed that was his fault. He was still an anomaly. Their feelings couldn't change that.

Brennan postponed thinking about his situation for as long as possible. He'd only waited long enough to learn that Adam was almost fully recovered and there had been no more unusual weather patterns since he'd left before excusing himself in order to go take a shower.

He pulled on a pair of sweats, not knowing what time it was but feeling worn out. He wanted to sleep for a week. He grabbed his dirty clothing from his bed - or rather some Brennan's bed - and paused when he felt the gun still in his coat pocket.

His jeans and t-shirt absently fell to the floor as he focused on the weapon his double had given him. He would guess that world's Shalimar and Eckhart had been armed as well. He hoped Jesse and Adam hadn't crossed paths with that gang again. He thought his double capable of following up on his idea of simply eliminating the problem.

Brennan wondered if he belonged with that Adam and Jesse, if he should have returned home with them or perhaps died beside them...

He didn't want to think about it. Placing the gun on his nightstand, he went to bed and attempted to fall asleep.

Brennan woke from his partial sleep to the feel of the world shaking. He sat up quickly. Earthquake. It wasn't enough to knock anything over, but he instinctively reached the catch the gun which was precariously balanced on the edge of the nightstand.

It was only a minute before the ground quit trembling. Brennan, however, couldn't stop shaking. He stared at the gun in his hand. The earthquake was his fault. He didn't belong here.

The metal was slick and heavy in his grip, and Brennan choked back a sob as he made sure the gun was loaded. The other Brennan was right, and there was only one solution left.

He pressed the gun to the side of his head and closed his eyes.

There was a quick knock at his door as Jesse pushed it open. "Hey, the quake broke a few things in the other room - thought I'd make sure you're okay in here."

Brennan didn't have time to put down the gun. He watched Jesse who had just frozen in his doorway. "Walk away, Jess," he pleaded softly.

Instead Jesse slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. "You think this was you?"

"What else could it have been but me?"

"An aftershock." Jesse took a step closer. "Just like it's taking us time to recover, it's the same with the planet, Bren."

He still couldn't put down the gun. "And you can tell me you're certain of that?" Jesse didn't answer. "I can't take that risk."

"So you're going to sacrifice yourself instead of waiting to find out?"

"What if the next earthquake kills a hundred people? A thousand?" Brennan couldn't make that call.

"The good of the many, ends justify the means, and all that?" Jesse glanced around the room. "What? No note?"

"You'd do the same in my place," Brennan replied.

Jesse had to admit he probably would, although he'd be terrified. "Are you certain this isn't your dimension? You and Emma both seemed so sure..."

"Because I love her that gives me the right to put her life in danger?" Brennan shook his head. "I won't do that. I can't."

"You haven't thought this through."

"I have."

"And that's why you're eating a bullet and splattering blood all over your room - that Emma is likely going to be cleaning up later - while we have an entire medical lab full of prescription medications that would be clean and painless?" Jesse asked.

"I wouldn't know what to take," Brennan confessed. "But I still need to do this."

Jesse slowly nodded. "Okay. If you can look me in the eye and tell me this isn't some rash decision, then okay."

Brennan didn't think suicide was ever completely rational, but he met Jesse's gaze.

Jesse paled and a tear slid down his face. He didn't need Brennan to actually say anything. He wiped at his cheek. "Okay..." he relented, his voice wavering. "If you're going to do this, I'll tell you which pills..."

Brennan placed the gun in his dresser drawer. It was cold comfort that Jesse either respected his decision or was just trying to be a good enough friend that he was making sure Brennan didn't screw this up. He'd made Jesse a part of him ending his life, something he regretted happening, but at least he wasn't going through this alone.

Emma tossed and turned, not being able to sleep. Brennan was home. Even though he refused to admit it, she knew in her heart it was her Brennan, that this world was his. How could she have feelings so strong for him if he weren't hers? He seemed so lost and… sad. How could she sleep when she just got him back, that he was just a couple of rooms away. She missed him so much while he was gone. It might have lasted less than two days, but it still felt like an eternity to her.

Kicking the covers one last time, she realized the only way for her to be able to get some shuteye was if she made sure firsthand Brennan was here, safe and sound.

She slowly made her way towards his room barefoot, the cold floor making her shiver… or was it the apprehension of seeing him again? They parted ways not an hour ago, get a grip, Em, she scolded herself. What could have happened in this hour? Surely nothing, so why did she feel this sudden surge to be near him, to check on him? As she neared his room, apprehension turned to fear. She tried to push the feeling away, but when seeing his bedroom was open and that the room was dark and empty, panic started to strike her. He wouldn't leave her without saying goodbye, right?

"Here, Brennan, take about ten pills of this and..." said Jesse while taking a bottle from the cupboard. He couldn't make himself end that sentence. He knew it was wrong to help his friend die, because whether this Brennan was from this world or not, he was still Bren, his teammate, his best friend, his big brother.

Brennan looked a long time at the bottle Jesse was handing him, not able to say a single word. He just kept staring at it, as if realizing what those little pills could do.

"Don't take more than ten, Bren," continued the molecular with a hoarse voice. "If you absorb the whole bottle, you'd be sick as a dog and we'd need to clean your stomach, but no overdose…"

Jesse closed his eyes, as if the impact of what he was doing just penetrated his consciousness. How could he help his friend die! The answer was simple. One look at Brennan and he knew nothing could stop him.

"Thanks, Jess," he answered, tightening his grip on the small object that held so much. He couldn't go back now, he had to be strong. For Jesse who already did so much, for the world, as dramatic as that sounded... and for Emma.

"I forgot to ask when was the last time you ate something," Jesse remarked next.

He kept doing that, Brennan realized, kept checking things. His exact weight to determine dosage, if he had any allergies, told him twice to only take ten pills... To either break the silence or to somehow postpone this, Brennan wasn't certain the reason. He studied Jesse for a moment. "You're more nervous than I am." His friend was shaking.

"I was raised Catholic, Bren." That was the only explanation he offered.

Once more, Brennan regretted getting Jesse involved in this. "This isn't exactly suicide, you know that. I don't want to kill myself, this is just something I have to do because of..."

Jesse nodded. "I know."

"I'd be doing this with or without you, Jesse," he stated firmly, needing Jesse to not put this on himself.

"I know," he repeated. They regarded each other in silence for a minute. "Do you want to do this here, or would you be more comfortable going back to your room?"

Maybe the questions made Jesse more comfortable, Brennan decided. It made the situation somehow controlled. It was a checklist of instructions during a helpless circumstance.

"Here is fine." Their eyes locked briefly and then Brennan turned around, wanting desperately to end things as quickly as possible. That's when he heard it. The small gasp coming from the door.

Emma had run around Sanctuary trying desperately to find the elemental. There weren't that many places to go inside the mountain. She'd told herself he couldn't have left. All thoughts were turning and twisting in her head. He wouldn't come back just to leave; life wouldn't be that cruel! Then she'd turned a corner, saw light in the lab and approached the room more slowly, fearing what she could find. She'd tried to calm her erratic breathing, but fear and anxiety wouldn't let her. As she'd neared the lab, she saw the door ajar and what evolved in front of her eyes left her speechless.

This was worse than not finding him. Because Brennan was there, with Jesse, holding what appeared to be a bottle of pills in his hand. Maybe he had trouble sleeping, she tried to rationalize, and Jesse helped him find the good meds. Because it wasn't how it looked... how it felt. It simply wasn't. But upon hearing their words, she couldn't help but let the gasp escape.

When their eyes locked, she could see his pain and another expression that wasn't there before... as if he was saying sorry. She then trained her gaze on the bottle nestled inside Brennan's fist, then back to his eyes again, silently asking what was going on. When Brennan wouldn't meet her gaze anymore, she let her eyes fall on Jesse who was holding himself on the cupboard, head down. She tilted her head to the side, as if trying to better understand what was unfolding in front her eyes, but with no success.

"Brennan?" she finally asked, her voice quivering. Her eyes pleaded for him to explain what he was doing, but his silence and Jesse's posture said it all.

"Why?" she continued, tears in her eyes.

Brennan still refused to look her in the eyes, shame enveloping him, and fear. She was never supposed to see him like that. He didn't feel brave, and this wasn't some noble act - it was a desperate last resort of somebody who'd merely failed to find another answer.

She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to sleep so he could leave and save them in the process. How could he go through with his plan if she looked at him like that with her perfect blue eyes, so clear, like a cloudless sky in the summer... now wet with tears. He was a coward and he knew it, but how could he explain to her it was for the best?

"I said why, Brennan!" she repeated, this time angrily, which made him look up, Jesse deciding to phase into another room, giving the two lovers some time to talk. What he saw tore his heart into pieces. Angry tears were running down her cheeks.

"Tell me you just wanted some help to sleep, Bren," she pleaded again.

"Emma, you know it would be better if..." he closed his eyes, his grip tightening on the bottle, making his knuckles turn white. He took a deep breath then, but as he was going to continue his sentence, she interrupted him.

"I am sure you won't tell me it's better to kill yourself than to live! Even you wouldn't be that stupid!" she said, going from sad to angry in a matter of second.

"It's the only solution," he answered in an almost imperceptible tone. He had to be strong and do the right thing, at least once in his life. Too bad it would be the last one also. When that thought entered his mind, he started to chuckle a little until Emma shot him a deadly and confused glare, which immediately sobered him up.

"Sorry," he apologized like a kid being scolded by his mom.

"Sorry for what? For coming back just to leave again? For wanting to play the self-sacrificing hero because you think we're in danger? For making me fall in love with you? Tell me what you're sorry for!"

At this point, Brennan couldn't tear his eyes from his beloved Emma anymore if he wanted to. Silent tears escaped his eyelashes.

"I have to, Em," he repeated ever so lowly, just above a whisper. "If I don't do it, the world is at risk, YOU are in danger, and I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you." His voice, hoarse with emotion, did nothing to help him.

"No, Bren, you don't know. There has to be a way," she answered, her own voice also low, as if talking more loudly would make something happen.

"Emma, look at the earthquake! It's my fault, I am not from this world!" He turned away quickly, trying to make a distance between them, to be able to regain some semblance of control over his thoughts and emotions.

"Look at me, Bren," she said slowly, closing her eyes in hurt. When he wouldn't move, she started screaming, not caring who else could hear her, and not caring if something happened... because something needed to happen.

"I said look at me, damn it! Look at me right in the eyes and tell me you really believe it's the only solution!"

Brennan turned around, as if in slow motion, but once he saw Emma again, her shaking form due to the sobs he caused, he couldn't take it anymore. He was by her side in two steps and enveloped her in his arms, never wanting to let go.

"If you're doing this because you know you don't belong here," she cried, "then so am I. I'm certain we're supposed to be together. If you do this, then I have to also." She didn't know if she really meant it, if being in his arms felt more like home than this world. For the first time, it didn't feel safe.

None of them heard the sound of the bottle dropping. All Emma could think of was Brennan's arms secured around her, while her fists pounded into his chest now in anger and sorrow. She didn't want to be held if it couldn't stay this way.

"Why do you want to leave me? Don't leave me, Brennan, please, don't leave me." She continued trying to shove him away, desperate for him to not let her.

It was at this precise moment Brennan knew he couldn't go on with his plan. He rested his chin on top of Emma's head, letting her throw her fists at him, letting her cry, trying to absorb her tears and pain, all the while sending a silent prayer for everything to work out in the end.

A week later, they all stood outside of what used to be the Naxcon building - all six of them - watching the construction crew and pondering on the last few months. Being a mutant is one thing, but parallel worlds, different dimensions... that's science-fiction! Each person was thinking about how far they'd gone to succeed in this mission, how much that cost some of them, the thoughts inevitably drifting to their doubles.

Brennan held Emma tightly against him and she wouldn't have it any other way. Jesse and Shal stood side by side, looking at their two friends, seeing the invisible scars this adventure left behind. Every once in a while, Jesse would cast a furtive glance at Lexa as well.

There were no more earthquakes, no more suicide attempts, and no more doubles. They still had a long way to go before recovering completely, but they had all learnt one of the most important lessons in life: they all needed each other, and they needed to have faith in each other.

"Well, I don't see anybody randomly disappearing or construction guys going in wearing orange hats and coming out with yellow," Lexa commented. "So I'll be waiting in the car."

Or at least almost all of them had found the moral of the story.

"She's also bad with social situations," Jesse mentioned to Brennan, continuing their discussion of why he wasn't romantically interested in Lexa. "I'll go keep her company."

"I guess everything is in order now," said Adam as Jesse trotted off after the brunette.

They'd needed closure and going back to where it all began seemed as good a place as any.

"Yep," agreed Shalimar, looking at her two friends still in each other's arms.

The silence between comments was deafening, but needed nonetheless, for they were still in a way in the chaos that used to be the multi-dimensional days.

"And everyone who was at Naxcon that day is in his or her rightful place, even Mason Eckhart," continued Adam.

Upon hearing that, Shalimar's head shot up quickly.

"Wait, what about my dad!"

THE END


End file.
